Strangers in the dark
by codegal
Summary: LM: The last thing Marie thought would happen to her was becoming the captive of a dangerous and very hairy mutant. But as Marie gets to know him better, she finds that appearances can be quite deceiving...
1. Stranger in the dark

**Title:** Strangers in the dark

**Author:** codegal

**Rating:** R

**Disclaimer:** Alas, I do not own X-Men...

**Summary:** The last thing Marie thought would happen to her was becoming a captive of a psychotic and very hairy mutant. But as Marie gets to know him better, she finds that appearances can be quite deceiving...

**Author's Notes:** Just something I had lurking around my head for quite awhile...

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****

"I'll have a beer."  
  
Ordering, Marie sat heavily on her bar stool. The bartender complied, hen left to serve another customer, all the while wiping down the counter top. Picking up her beer mug and taking one long swig, Marie slumped forward on the bar, her brain on an overload.  
  
She could feel the new memories of that stupid prick in her head, still swirling around, causing a slow and steady throb. Clutching her head, Marie took another swig, all the while cussing her boss for trying to cop a feel under her shirt.  
  
Asshole.  
  
Sighing, Marie knew a hangover would make her head feel worse, seeing as her headache was getting stronger by the second. She had to go home before she totally lost it.  
  
Throwing a few bills on the counter and taking one last swig of her beer, Marie got up and left the downbeat bar, pulling the collar of her trench coat up to ward of the cold.  
  
Stepping outside into the darkened street, Marie started walking briskly towards her apartment, which was at least a fifteen minute walk. Up ahead, she could see two silhouettes moving against each other.  
  
Disgusted, she looked away—what was it with youths and having sex in public?  
  
Just then, a glint of silver flashed in the moonlit street and one of the figures fell to the ground. Keeping to the shadows, Marie bit back a scream and paused, willing her breathing to normal, her throat throbbing from wanting to call for help.  
  
Creeping silently while keeping close to the fence tat run down the street, Marie tried her best to sneak past, her eyes keeping on the outline of what appeared to be a man. A very tall man. A very tall and bulky man.  
  
She was going to piss her pants.  
  
Holding her breath, she kept on moving, noting that the man was still breathing hard, still standing over the other fallen guy. Cursing herself for not remembering to buy pepper spray, Marie didn't notice the empty can on the footpath.  
  
Her foot came into contact with the empty aluminium can, and it went hit the road, and rolled away. Marie froze. Immediately, the man's head snapped up, and he sniffed, his head turning her way.  
  
Shit.  
  
She heard the man sniff again, although she wasn't sure why the heck for. Marie looked up ahead, judging the distance to the open road. Seeing as she was still in her heels, she was highly doubted she would make it there and call for help before he caught up with her.  
  
Which left the direction of the bar. She judged it to be at least a good hundred metres away. Her attention came back to the silent shadow.  
  
"Who's there?" A gruff voice sounded out into the night.  
  
Marie stayed silent and inched ever so slightly towards the direction of the bar, her breath fighting its way to burst out of her body. The shadow moved towards her and she could hear a snikt sound resonate through the deserted street.  
  
Trembling, Marie guessed the sound to be his knife.  
  
"I said who's there?" The shadow ordered, his voice more forceful and threatening.  
  
Close to screaming, Marie stepped forward, her hands held out in the international sign of surrender. "I-I'm just passing through. I just wanna go home, that's all."  
  
She could hear the shadow sniff again, and she moved an inch towards the bar. The man growled and Marie froze.  
  
"You're lying."  
  
Marie stopped moving and forced herself to speak, despite her hammering heart. "I'm not lying. Seriously. I was just going home."  
  
"Then why are you going towards the bar? There are no houses that way."  
  
The shadow stepped forward, and the moonlight washed over his face. Marie could see him now. The man's hair came up into two points on the top of his head. He had mutton chops that ran down the sides of his face and the fiercest expression on it.  
  
Despite the sense of overwhelming fear that ran through her, Marie couldn't help the butterflies that ran through her stomach. Marie mentally slapped herself. Now is not the time to find the freakin' guy attractive!  
  
Tapping into the well of personalities in her head, she drew out Merrick's. With his self-defence instincts running through her, Marie banished all thoughts of fear from her mind and crouched into a battle stance.  
  
The man's head cocked to the side, and she noticed the slight tightening of his body. In deceptively calm voice, the man asked, "Who sent you?"  
  
In a lightening quick move, she dropped to the floor and lashed her foot out, sweeping his legs out from under him. No sooner did he hit the ground was he back up, crouching into a fighting stance.  
  
Stunned, thoughts ran wildly through Marie's head. She had obviously underestimated him.  
  
"Who sent you?" The man snarled.  
  
Marie looked confused, "what are you talking about?"  
  
"Don't play games with me." With a roar, the man leapt at her. Wide-eyed, Marie quickly ducked the fist to her face, but caught the roundhouse kick to her back. Crying out, Marie fell to the ground, her breath coming out in short, hard gasps.  
  
The man quickly straddled her and held her arms down. Marie struggled wildly, but was soon detained by the heavier and stronger man. Something cool hit her face, and Marie looked down to see a dog tag hanging from his neck.  
  
The word 'Wolverine' and a few numbers were on it. He must have been in the army.  
  
Breathing hard, the man leant down close to Marie's face. "Now, unless you want to end up like your friend over there, you better tell me who you are."  
  
Marie glanced at the fallen figure and opened her mouth to protest. "But I- I don't know—"  
  
She was cut off by the sudden sound of the bar's door being banged open. The sounds of a bar room brawl sounded through the street and people started to come outside. The sound of a siren could be heard in the distance.  
  
Swearing loudly, the man got up, and yanked Marie up. His hand clamped over her mouth to prevent her from making any noise. Lifting her up, he ran through the street, keeping to the dark.  
  
Marie struggled against his grasp. He placed an arm around her mid-section and held her tightly. Fighting for breath, Marie's body fell limp, as the darkness overcame her.

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TBC...  
  
As always, read and review...


	2. Escape attempt Take One

**Title: **Strangers in the Dark

**Disclaimer: **I do not own X-Men, etc.

**Author's Notes: **I tried to be really quick in bringing this out but my LoganMuse was being a dick… Anyways, I have to say, that I'm not really sure in where I'm taking this. Before I wrote this, I had a rough idea on what I wanted to do with the fic, but then I started typing and the whole bloody thing just went out the window, so I really don't know what's happening at the moment. Anyways, I hope to have a better idea in the next chapter…

**BIG HUG AND THANKS TO MY BETA: NICCA… THANKS A LOT, MATE…**

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**_I looked down at the female I_**

**_was_****_ carrying and a question hit me:_**

**_What the fuck was I doing?_**

- **_Wolverine _**

Her back hurt.

Marie regained consciousness and found herself in what appeared to be a bedroom. Shifting her stiff limbs, Marie went to rub feeling back into legs, only to find that her hands had been bound to a nearby heater.

Willing her mind to relax, Marie once again drew on Merrick's personality, a naval officer who she had formerly been seeing before placing him into a coma. The familiar niggling of guilt played in her mind, before she brushed it off and carefully paid attention to the task at hand.

Being in the navy, Merrick had had to learn how to knot ropes the proper way. As she analysed the way her hands were bound, she almost scoffed aloud.

How amateurish could you get?

Honing into Merrick's skills, she carefully negotiated her way through the knot, being careful not to yank to hard or else she would unintentionally tighten the knot. Closing her eyes as she worked, she finally gave the rope a slight tug and felt it unravel from around her wrists.

Rising slowly to her feet and stamping circulation back into them, she sneered at her captive. Take that you big, overgrown, hairy psycho!

Now that she was free from her bounds, Marie carefully scoped the room, judging it to be a cheap motel room in the middle of nowhere, which was a surprise, considering where they had come from. Stalking to the nearby window, she carefully bent one blind and peered outside.

The room was situated in front of an empty parking lot that was lined with fencing.

Glancing beyond the fence, Marie spied what appeared to be a bar. Squinting, Marie could see the cars parked outside, and a few men, staggering outside, obviously joking and laughing with each other.

Pulling back from the blind, Marie bit her lip and wondered what she would do. She wasn't sure where her captive had gone, but she was pretty sure that he wasn't in the room. Pacing, Marie ran through all the possibilities.

If she went to the bar, the bar would have men inside, and these men would have vehicles… that should get her back to Westchester, if she could first find out where in the hell she is. She peered through the blinds again.

Looking outside, she abruptly pulled back from the blinds, finally coming to a decision.

She was going to make a run for it.

---

The Wolverine leant against the cage, smoking his cigar, bored out of his mind.

He knew the pathetic fighting bar he entered wouldn't have held any competition, but the fem men that he had fought with were beyond pathetic. He didn't even think that any of his opponents had managed to scratch him, not that it would have lasted, considering his mutation.

Taking a deep drag from the cigar, his mind went back to the female he had locked and tied up in his motel room. He grinned, thinking of the girl's reaction when she would find herself helpless, shacked up against a heater.

He had sniffed her scent, catching a subtle fragrance that was so foreign to him; he couldn't even begin to describe it. There was something about her. Something almost…pure.

Logan snarled and shook his head. If she was so fucking pure, then why did she try and attack him?

Logan was startled out of his thoughts when the cage door opened. Flicking a glance over at the new opponent, he immediately sized him up and almost shook his head at the pathetic form.

Biting on his cigar, he stayed leaning against the cage, his gaze on the blood thirsty crowd that filled the bar. The Wolverine grinned.

Might as well give them a show.

---

Marie quietly and cautiously entered the bar, her gaze always searching out her hairy captor.

The noise from inside the bar assaulted her ears, and she looked at the small crowd in shock. Scoping out the bar, she noted the metal cage in the middle, with two men, one half naked, the other fully clothed, going at it.

If Marie hadn't known better, she would have thought that she had stepped into some mini wrestling arena.

Slowly walking inside, Marie spotted a spare stool at the bar and quickly strode to it, seating herself before turning to watch the fight.

From where she sat, she couldn't make any distinguishing features of any of the two men, but she had a vague idea of what they looked like. She watched on as the fully clothed man got in a good uppercut to the half naked man's jaw.

She winced in reaction. Ouch, that one's gotta hurt, she thought wryly to herself.

As the half naked man fell to down onto one knee, Marie watched as the muscles on his back stretched and flexed, shifting as he moved his shoulders and cracked his neck. She could see the sweat from his exertions make their sweet way down the column of his spine.

She shivered. She could definitely feel the hum of her body, as her hormones took attention of the half naked guy.

That was definitely a fuck-able back.

Still transfixed on his back, Marie didn't notice the moment when the half naked man gave a swift punch to the other's stomach. Nor did she see the quick kick to the head as the fully clothed man bent over in reaction to the punch in the stomach. She didn't even notice the bell ring, as it signalled the ending of the match.

Seeing the guy exit from the cage, Marie slid from her stool and on impulse, made her way to the guy with the fuck-able back. She figured, if she couldn't get a ride back to Westchester, she could probably get a different sort of ride from the guy.

She watched as he yanked on a flannel shirt and leather jacket.

Her mouth watering, she stepped up behind the man and went to timidly tap on his shoulder, when he whipped around. She stared in shock as she stared into the eyes of her captor.

He growled. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

---

TBC… R and R as always…


	3. His name is Logan

**Title:** Strangers in the Dark – "His name is Logan..."  
  
**Disclaimer:** No, I do not own X-Men! Please don't hurt me!  
  
**Author's Notes:** Yeah, sorry about the long wait, but I've been busy packing some of my belongings (you won't believe how much junk I have) and haven't had time with my real life and all...

Anyways, I really had writer's block on this one, but I wanted to write the next chapter and post it already for everyone who reviewed (thanks everyone)...

And, yes, I gave my LoganMuse some beer already (thanks to the suggestion of WantingDreams, lolz...) but he wouldn't come out of his dark corner since I didn't specifically have a Molsen (damn his picky hide)...

Well, anyways, here's to hoping this next chapter is alright...  
  
---  
  
** I sniffed and caught that same whiff that I  
caught back in that alley in Westchester.  
I turned. Of course it would be her.  
I've never been so fucking angry in my life.  
- Wolverine  
**  
---  
  
Marie could do nothing more than stare in shock at her captor. Her whole plan of avoiding the damn guy, then hitching a ride back to Westchester ruined because of uncontrollable hormones and some fighter with a fuck-able back.  
  
Damn it all.  
  
In the smoky bar, Marie had a better look at her captor. He wasn't prince charming, but he had this rough, bad boy attitude that was very appealing. Not to mention that yummy chest of his and his low riding jeans.  
  
Marie had to pause and wonder **_what the fuck was wrong with her?  
_**  
Her life at that very moment was probably over, that or in dangerous jeopardy, and here she was, salivating over the one guy that is the reason behind her life being over or in dangerous jeopardy.  
  
Shit.  
  
Think, Marie urged herself, her mind racing through possibilities at that moment. She looked around the bar and was surprised when she noticed the amount of people inside. People that she had failed to notice on her way to her stool.  
  
But then again, her mind had been on fuck-able backs, hadn't it.  
  
Shaking her head, Marie looked back up at her captor. With all the people around, she was bound to be able to get away. He wouldn't dare touch her now with all these people able to witness in actions he may make towards her.  
  
Warmth spread within her.  
  
The despair that she had felt at the sight of him was slowly dissipating, replaced by a feeling of joy and hope at the realisation that she could get away from him. She couldn't help smiling.  
  
"What's so fucking funny?" Her former captor growled, taking a menacing step towards her.  
  
"Do you wanna know what?" Marie drawled out, her Southern accent thickening. "I stand in front of the same guy that abducted me from Westchester after a harmless night of drinking, in a bar that's filled with people, who, if I might add, will call the police if you dare try and touch me."  
  
Marie's smile widened. "Just think of how long they'll lock you up for."  
  
Her former captor's eyes flared at her last sentence, and she couldn't help the smirk that covered her face.**_ Didn't think about that, did you?  
_**  
She turned away from him then and searched the bar for a potential person to hitch a ride from. Spotting a female truckie seated at the bar she made her way over, wanting to dance outrageously at her luck. Things were going to be okay.  
  
The big trunk of an arm wrapped around her midsection told her otherwise. Things were not going to be okay.  
  
Biting back her shout of surprise, she turned her face to see her captor, his face twisted into a sneering grin. Marie swallowed, a feeling of dread overwhelming her.  
  
"Do you wanna know what I find funny?"  
  
Marie shook her head at his question and had to fight to stop the rest of her body from shaking. The man smiled.  
  
"I'll tell ya anyway."  
  
He turned her around so that she was fully facing him and pulled her body flush against his, so that Marie could feel the hard strength of his physique. There was nothing soft about the man.  
  
"This is somewhere I come regularly to fight. And when people see the latest bitch I have in my arms, they won't think any of it. You'd just be another one of those women that 'the wolverine' would take home after his match."  
  
Marie's eyes widened at his words. She felt as if her stomach were sinking to the bottoms of her feet. The rollercoaster of hope that she had been riding on was taking a deep dip downwards, and there didn't seem to be an end to it.  
  
Without thinking, Marie let herself be ushered outside and into the almost deserted car park, with Wolverine's arm still wrapped around her. She could feel him turning to the direction of the hotel, the place that she had just come from.  
  
Something inside her snapped.  
  
No way was she just going to be defeated now. Not while she still had a chance of getting away. Marie dug her heels into the ground, and tried to pry the huge arm that was wrapped around her, all the while kicking at his shins.  
  
Wolverine grunted at her struggles and stopped walking. "Be still, damn it," he growled, trying to get a hold of her flailing arms.  
  
"No!" Marie yelled, and increased the force of her movements, trying vainly to free herself. Her hand shot up and connected with his jaw, she could see his head snap backwards. At the slight loosening of his hold, Marie broke free and made a break for freedom, her sights locked onto the small gathering of men that were situated on the opposite side of the car park.  
  
She didn't see the kick from behind.  
  
One of her knees suddenly buckled and she fell to the ground, sliding across the rock-strewn cement. She could feel the stings of the scrapes along her left cheek, belly and knees, ignored them, and tried to rise back onto her feet.  
  
Her body wouldn't co-operate.  
  
Tears of frustration pooled in her eyes as she struggled to gain her feet. If she could just get close enough to yell for help, she'd be alright.  
  
Two hard hands clamped onto her shoulders, wrenching her to her feet. She cried out in pain, his hold bruising on her shoulders.  
  
Marie knew that this would probably be her final chance at a break for freedom. Lifting on of her gloved hands to her face, she used her teeth to hold onto the fingers and yanked her hand out of the confinement. Steadying her breathing, she concentrated, opening up the connection, just enough to knock Wolverine out.  
  
Wolverine spun the woman around, his mouth full of curses he wanted to spit in her face, his anger now at boiling point. He didn't see the raised hand, nor did he see the moment that it connected to his exposed cheek.  
  
An intense pain, like wildfire, ran through his body.  
  
He looked down at the woman in front of him, faintly registering that her breaths came in and out in shallow puffs, that the veins of her face stuck out grossly, that she had to be like him. Mutant.  
  
He wanted to die. The pain... it was unbearable. Giving a loud roar of anguish, he let the animal take over.  
  
Its first instincts were to rid itself of the pain. Unsheathing its claws, he ran them through the known source of pain.  
  
Then, it was dark.  
  
---  
  
Marie couldn't breathe.  
  
She sank to the floor, her hands pressed to her head. Already, she could feel the memories and thoughts of the Wolverine overcrowd her mind, fighting for dominancy.  
  
She fought him, but it hurt so much. Added to the pain in her head, she could feel the painful process of healing that her stomach was undertaking as the skin re-closed and her organ healed, courtesy of the Wolverine's mutation.  
  
But as her brain was already on an overload, the healing was slow, and Marie desperately tried to pump much needed oxygen into her lungs to keep from blacking out.  
  
Moments of desperate struggling passed before Marie was able to banish Logan, as she had recently learnt from his memories, to the back of her mind, mentally closing the door so that he couldn't break free and try to take over her mind again.  
  
Breathing hard, Marie tried to force her body to rise and run, now that Logan lay unconscious on the floor. But she was so tired, her eyes already dropping. She gave one last try before she blacked out, her body falling lifelessly down onto Logan.  
  
---

TBC...

Yeah, that'd be it for a while, until I get all my junk overseas... Anyways, dont forget to visit my site, (its on my profile page) and for all those that have gotten my message from "The Joys of Strip Wrestling," I apologise if you haven't recieved the rest of the story, but I did mention that you could find it on my web site if you didnt want to wait until I got my computer fixed from the virus inhabiting it.

That said, dont forget to review!!! Lolz... Oh, yeah, Nicca: when you edit/preview your fic, there's a button with a bold 'B' on it... I think that might be what you're talking about... Lolz... I have no idea... :)

codegal


	4. Wolverine's past

**Title:** Strangers in the dark – "Wolverine's past"

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own and don't even bother; I'm poor, so suing me would be pointless…

**Author's Notes:** So little.prying.Pandora asked me if I would want to go the whole year without updating… dang it… I lose… so this was written today during nap time (yeah, I work at a child care, so what…?) and its not betaed or anything, I just wanted to hurry up and update for those who're still interested in the fic, hope I haven't lost you all… While reading this, you might get a little confused cause I refer to Logan both as Logan and Wolverine… um, also, if you don't like the way this is turning out, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you really think, but remember that I have final say over it, so eat it wenches! With that said… on with the story…

--

**Saw some girl outside in the lot with some guy.**

**Figure I'm gonna head out and check it out,**

**she maybe that kinda gal that gives out freebies,**

**and if not, maybe I can persuade her…**

**- Bill, member of the FOH**

--

Marie was the first to wake up.

Disoriented, she looked around and found herself in a parking lot. The sequence of events prior to her black out filled her mind and she looked around for the Wolverine. She saw him laying unconscious a few feet from her, and at the mere sight of him, was flooded with his life memories again.

Marie gritted her teeth and tried to control them. She sifted through images of his past, of him fighting in bar room brawls, of him drinking in bars, in his truck, in his room, of him banging various woman at various and frequent times (which brought a blush to Marie's face, the man was very creative to say in the least), and memories of him traveling through towns, occasionally following the fight circuit.

She had thought that would be the end, but a fresh onslaught of memories filled her mind. They were horrible. Marie gasped as she saw a lab, saw bits and pieces of how scientists had treated him, experimented on him, punished him, and his final escape from that God forsaken place.

She tasted salt on her lips and was surprised to find tears streaming down her face when she touched her cheek. Angrily, she dashed the tears away and shook her head. _**I refuse to feel sorry for you,** _she thought. Struggling to gain her feet, she tried to disassociate herself from the man lying pathetically at her feet. There was no freaking way that she was gonna feel sorry for his sorry ass. This was the same guy that had abducted her for no apparent reason, the same guy who had tied her to a heater, making her feel hopeless and alone, the same man that had drug her away from the place that was as close as home as any place was gonna get. He was nothing but some freak psycho. That was all. Surely she could leave him here.

New memories flooded her. This time, they were of him hiding out in alley ways, looking as natural as the day he was born, freezing his tail off with frostbite, hungry as heck and looking for help. Except no one would. He had taken some dead homeless guy's rags that he had found so he could cover some of his body from the harsh winter, he ate out of trash cans occasionally if he couldn't find anything to hunt and slept in dumpsters to shield himself from the elements.

Remembering her own painful experiences on the road, Marie sighed and tried to stand firm in her resolve to leave Logan here. But at the sight of his unconscious body, her resolve wavered, teetered, and crashed. She convinced herself that if she didn't at least take him back to the motel that she had been in, she would have been no better than those FOH's that she had met up with before, and judging from what he had seen in this man's past, he needed all the breaks he could get.

She bent down to lift him off of the ground, and despite the temporary strength she had attained, she still wasn't strong enough to lift a 200lb. metal frame plus muscles. Knowing that there was no way to go about this except to drag him back to the motel, she managed to lift him into a sitting position, and wrapping her arms around his upper chest, began to drag him across the parking lot.

Ten minutes later, having used all the cuss words in her vocabulary (choosing to refrain from the one's in the Wolverine's), having jerked and pulled and yanked for all she was worth, and having only traveled two-thirds of a yard, Marie let go of Logan's unconscious body and stood up to stretch her back. This was completely useless. At this rate, she'd get him back to the motel in time for new years, which was still a good eight months away.

_**There's got to be an easier way.**_

Quickly, Marie sifted through Logan's memories to figure out a possible solution to the dilemma at hand. The picture of a red truck flitted though her mind and she looked around the parking lot to look for the corresponding vehicle. She spotted it a few yards away and had to shake her head. The guy was in the motel across the road but was still compelled to drive a vehicle.

A snarl from his counterpart, who had remained quiet until now, resonated in her mind and she had to smile. Unlike the others, he had settled down remarkably well after the battle for control that always ensued after an absorption.

She resumed the task of dragging the Wolverine's lifeless body with the new destination in mind but froze when she heard the sound of footsteps making its way towards her. It stopped a few steps behind her.

"Hey, girlie. What'cha doin' there?"

Careful to remain calm, Marie slowly turned to face the man whom had questioned her, a guy she now recognized from inside the bar, one of the many who had been yelling for blood. Fear mingled with disgust curled within her stomach, and if it weren't for the Southern manners that had been instilled into her from childhood, she would have thrown up all over the man.

His head had little to no hair that looked as if it hadn't seen water in its lifetime, his wife-beater bore a few stains that were both recognizable and unrecognizable, and the smell of sweat, cigarettes and beer seemed to emanate strongly from him.

"Just helping a friend to his vehicle, sir," Marie replied with all the civility she could muster.

The stranger cocked his head to the side and looked down at the body she had been dragging. "Hey! Ain't that the Wolverine?"

"Uh, yes, sir. He passed out from drinking too much and as I said earlier, I'm just helping him back to his vehicle, sir."

An unholy grin plastered the wretched man's face and Marie's stomach rolled in disgust. Red flags flew up at his expression and she could feel the Wolverine begin to tense and growl a warning.

"Why don't you leave him to me, hey, girlie?" The stranger purred. "Wouldn't want you to tear none of your finger nails now, so why don't'cha just give him over to me?"

Fear rose in her increasingly. If this man was a member of the FOH, she'd be in a lot of trouble. Her previous brush up with them had not been pleasant, nor did she have the aid of several other powerful fellow mutants at her hand. "No, thank you, sir. But thanks for the offer."

Annoyance flashed across the man's features and his eyes narrowed dangerously. "I insist."

Marie swallowed convulsively. She could feel the Wolverine preparing to fight. "No, thank you."

"Stupid Bitch! I said give him to me!" he yelled furiously and made a grab for her.

Frozen to the spot, Marie didn't know what else to do except to take one mental step back and let the Wolverine take control. Stepping towards the forefront, he growled dangerously at the stranger and sprang his claws forward. He was slightly surprised by their appearance. They weren't metal, but something entirely different.

The bastard's gasp reached his ears and he returned his attention back to the situation at hand.

"Mutie, bi—"

He gurgled the rest of the sentence, blood gushing from his throat as he fell with a heavy thud onto the cement.

The Wolverine stood over the man's body and fought to control the desire to continue to rip the bastard's body to shreds for whatever he had intended on doing to him. The sudden bang of the bar door and the laughter of the group of men that exited grabbed his attention. Knowing the likelihood of him being caught was increasing with every second that he stood there prompted his immediate spring into action.

He hurriedly sheathed the claws and grasped Logan's collar, dragging him towards the truck at a fast and furious pace. He could already hear the cry of disgust that sounded throughout the parking lot from the general direction of the dead body. Pulling the keys from Logan's pocket, he unlocked the doors and lifted him into the passenger's seat, succeeding after a few tries, before hopping into the driver's seat.

He could already hear the sirens in the distance, getting closer with every passing minute.

Wolverine jammed the key into the ignition and turned, and the roar of the engine sounded loudly, a certainly comforting sound. With one destination in mind, he slammed on the gas pedal and high-tailed it out of there.

--

The next thing Logan knew was that he was in a moving vehicle and had a terrible crick in his neck that needed popping. Not to mention muscles that needed some serious stretching. He fought through the haziness that clouded his mind and struggled to open his eyes. He was glad to note that he was in his own truck. That was until his eyes landed on the driver of his truck. He was pissed off beyond belief and sought to immediately right the problem.

His claws sprung out.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he growled.

A tear stained, pale face turned on him and he wanted to shield his eyes from the naked pain he saw, the look so miserable that he couldn't help but think to comfort her, to wipe the pathetic look from her face.

"When the come out, does it hurt?"

He hadn't expected that.

Dumbfounded, he said the only thing that came to mind. "Every time."

She nodded her head a little and turned her face back to the road. But only a few seconds had passed before she started breathing heavy, and small whimpers of pain would escape her lips now and then. She muttered and indistinct word and pulled the car over. Alarmed, Logan asked her what the matter was. She gave a helpless whimper.

"It's happening again."

Frozen with equal fascination and horror, Logan watched as his captive held her hands in front of her face and cry out in an anguished and pitiful voice as what can only be described as bone claws burst out of her knuckles.

"Shit," Logan muttered the heartfelt expletive. "Give me your hands, kid."

He knew and understood the pain that she was undergoing. He grabbed her hands and flattened her palms. "Relax. Let them retract. Relax, kid."

The girl took a shuddering breath and complied, and as he predicted, they retracted. She flopped back against the seat and tried to control her breathing.

"What happened?" Logan asked.

"Your mutation. I'm trying to control it."

"Did this have anything to do with what happened in the parking lot before I passed out?"

She nodded.

"Tell me what happened."

In a shaky breath, the girl relayed all that she had seen from when the Wolverine had taken temporary control of her body to that very moment. She had had her eyes closed the whole time Logan listened, but he noticed that at the end of her retelling, she opened an eyen to take a peek at his expression.

What she saw probably didn't please her because she shut her eyes again and started babbling stuff. "Please don't be mad. I did what I thought was right. Or at least what your counterpart though was right."

Logan sighed heavily. "I'm not mad at ya kid. But that stupid fucker better be glad that I didn't do more to him."

With that said, they both sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Logan suggested that he take over the reins from here. A quick switch of positions and Logan was back in control, turning on the engine and back on the road. More moments of silence passed by before Logan decided to break it.

"Look. I, uh, wanna do right by you for saving my life and all," he grudgingly admitted. "Once we reach the next town, I'll let ya go free and give you some money to, enough to get you something to eat and for you to get back home."

The girl looked down at her hands before answering him in a slight whisper. "My name is Marie."

Taking his eye off the road, he looked at her for a minute before giving a slight nod. "Ok, Marie. I'll let ya go free at the next town we stop at."

Marie sat in silence for a minute, and Logan thought she had dismissed the matter from her mind.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to remain your captive, Logan."


	5. A New Understanding

**Title:** Strangers in the Dark – A New Understanding

**Author:** codegal

**Disclaimer:** Don't own. Don't sue. Please.

**Author's Note:** wow... its now almost 2 years since I last updated this (wow, time just flies!)… this is a little something that came to me after staring at the screen for awhile and was hurriedly finished as I celebrated my birthday on Tuesday.  
And now for me to plug my website! Visit for more of my fanfics! heehee

--

_**She wants to remain my captive?**_

_**She must have some kinda brain **_

_**damage from the fight back there.**_

_**- Logan**_

--

"You've got to be shitting me."

Marie quickly looked out the passenger side window. What had come over her? He was letting her go, letting her return to her home, her life before he had grabbed her out of that alley way, and she wanted to stay with him? Definitely took a few too many bumps to the head earlier.

"Uh, forget it. I don't even know what I was saying."

She sneaked a look over at Logan and saw that he had his eyebrow raised at her. She quickly averted her eyes and returned to staring out the window. No doubt about it, it would be a relief to be free again, to return to more familiar surroundings. But what would she be returning to? A dead end job filled with co-workers who were jerks and were in constant competition with each other to be the first to bed 'the Rogue', a title that they had given to her after every man in the workplace had been turned down by her with a disdainful look and a cold shoulder. Did she really want to return to that?

No doubt, her life right now held more excitement then the whole ten years of time since her mutation first appeared. Not to mention the delicious male specimen seated next to her…

Marie mentally slapped herself. Delicious male specimen? Where did that come from?

There was no arguing that Logan was definitely attractive, a man that just oozed testosterone from his being that a girl couldn't help but think of tangled sheets. An image of Logan holding her down in the bed popped into her mind, and she could see him grin as he splayed her legs wide, and probed her exposed flesh with his fingers…

"We should reach town in half an hour if this snow stays on the light side."

Logan's voice interrupted her wayward thoughts and she wrenched her mind upwards. **Dang it! Now is not the time to be thinking about sex!** Marie admonished herself. But she couldn't stop the voice that said the sex would be hot, consuming and powerful.

**OK, stop thinking about it! You can do it, think about flowers, butterflies, anything… No, seriously, you can really do it!**

"Talk to me."

Marie whipped her head in surprise. Logan didn't look like the kinda guy that was into a whole lot of conversation, yet here he was trying to strike one up with her. "Uh, about what?"

"Anything. I can sense your uneasiness."

**Uneasiness? Oh, oh. Does that mean he can tell I've been thinking about him, me and a bed? Quick, Marie! Look around, what can you talk about?**

"Wow."

"What?"

"Suddenly my life doesn't look too bad." **Good job, Marie. You should get nominated for a prize. You really do have the gift of the gab.**

"Hey, if you prefer the road…"

**Offended tone. Aw, crap. Quick, think of something!**

"It looks great! It looks cozy…"

**Whew. I think that should do. Just keep your trap shut!**

Needless to say, there were no words exchanged between the two until they regretfully reached the next town, and Logan pulled into the nearest gas station. Putting the car into park and turning the engine off, the two sat in the cabin quietly, both hesitant to bring an end to their time together. But it was inevitable and Logan was the first to speak up.

"Thanks. For saving my life back there. Uh, how much money are you gonna need?"

"Um, well, I don't really know. Where are we exactly?"

"Laughlin City. Look, here's a few 100 dollar bills. This should be enough to get you to the border."

Marie accepted the money and finally glanced over at Logan. He was staring straight ahead, an awkward expression straining his face and his lips moving silently as if he was running over what he should say next. She had the overwhelming urge to laugh, his face almost comical, but Marie quickly smothered that urge and stuck her hand out. Logan paused and looked at her hand, momentarily confused before engulfing her hand with his much larger one.

"Goodbye," Marie said, though she wanted so desperately to fling herself into his arms and beg him to let her stay. But that wouldn't be lady like and Logan probably didn't want her on his hands. They stayed that way for a few moments, holding each other's hand, staring at each other, and for the first time in years since coming to terms with her mutation and the new life she had to lead because of it, Marie cursed the restrictions necessary to prevent skin-to-skin contact.

Just the simple contact of their hands, even with hers gloved, was enough to send shocks of pleasure running through her body, to pool deliciously in her stomach. Marie shivered and moved to disengage their hands before she embarrassed herself, the urge to bring his hand to her lips almost overwhelming.

As if sensing her desire, an intense look crossed Logan's face and his hold tightened. Marie stared helplessly into his green eyes as attraction flared strongly between them. "I just want one taste," Logan muttered before grasping her chin and lifting her face upwards before his mouth came crushing down onto hers.

The feel of his mouth on hers, his tongue sweeping across her bottom lip seeking entrance, was pure heaven. But in the manner of all good things, this came depressingly to an end a few seconds later when Marie felt the pull begin.

Images that she had already been privy too flooded her mind and she quickly pulled away from Logan before any real damage could be done. As it was, Logan seemed to be a bit out of breath, a stunned expression on his face as he stared at her, looking as if he was finally seeing something in her, perhaps the freak of nature that she was.

Not being able to bear anymore and contenting herself with this one brief moment of pleasure, Marie quickly unsnapped her belt and slipped out of the truck, walking briskly towards the store of the gas station. Tamping down on the overwhelming urge to look back, she passed through the blurred images of shelves lined with products, customers, and a clerk mopping the floor before making it to the ladies restroom.

Locking herself into a vacant stall, Marie closed the toilet lid and sat down, burying her face in her hands.

--

**Damn, that girl almost knocked the breath outta me.**

Logan was stunned. Absolutely stunned. Never before had a woman ever been able to turn him on so fast and get him so hard before with a mere kiss. Especially a kiss that had only lasted about 3 seconds.

The taste of her, sweet and cinnamon, caused a fire to burn low in his gut that made him break a sweat in this below 30 degree weather. Grimacing, Logan reached down to adjust his jeans into a comfortable fit, well, as comfortable as it can get when he had a major hard-on.

Relaxing minutely, Logan took a deep breath and started the engine, putting his car into drive. His feet, however, refused to move, and he sat in the gas station with the motor running. Moments passed as he remained seated in the pickup, his body twisting trying to catch a glimpse of the girl who had stopped his heart form beating with one simple kiss.

Though it was true that Logan had not been with a lot of women, most of them being afraid of the intensity with which he had sex with; Logan had also never felt as if his life finally had meaning, as if he could stay forever in that one spot, contently with his arms around the girl.

Around Marie.

Gritting his teeth, he shook his head as if to clear it from the fanciful notions that had taken a hold of it. Jacking up the air conditioner to high to help counteract the sudden throbbing in his groin, Logan shifted the gear into first, easing his leg onto the gas pedal, and turned back onto the long and winding white road.

--

The realisation that she was alone hit her full force while she remained on the toilet seat, her head throbbing from the wild rush of tears that had exploded from her earlier, her nose red from constant blowing with the rough toilet paper, and her eyes heavy lidded and swollen.

Fine tremors shook her body as her circumstances registered with her body. She was quite alone and stranded at a small gas station in someplace called Laughlin City, with four hundred dollars to her name and a quiet yet insistent calling within her for a certain stranger who had already left her behind.

Marie spent the next half hour getting her emotions and her appearance under control, taking deep breaths to even out her erratic breathing before moving to the one bathroom sink to wash her face. The small cracked mirror hanging on the wall also allowed Marie to comb her fingers through her hair, giving it a more orderly appearance rather than the dishevelled look it had had earlier.

Convinced that she was looking the best that she could possibly look for the moment, Marie took another calming breath before pulling open the bathroom door and striding back out. Quickly, she thought of the things she was going to need for her trip back home and located a small duffel bag in a basket of various goods that apparently were all under ten dollars.

It was while she was perusing over the different variety of snacks that Marie had the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. The Wolverine inside her perked up, and his instincts kicked in. Casually, so as not to alert any onlookers, Marie continued with her perusal, though she used her peripheral vision to try and locate who may have been watching her.

Unable to locate anyone overly suspicious, Marie tried to shake the odd feeling off, striding over to the coolers to grab a few bottles of water for the trip. The nagging feeling stayed with her.

By now, Wolverine was wildly trying for control, its fight or flight mode kicking into overdrive, and Marie couldn't help but obey. Quickly, and with a nonchalance that her beating heart certainly didn't feel, Marie made a bee line for the rest rooms, smoothly dropping her duffel bag and the purchases that she had been carrying inside on the linoleum.

Rounding the corner, Marie quickly hit the ground, and belly crawled back out into the goods aisles, making her way to the far end so her back was against the wall and she could try and locate the threat.

She sniffed the air. She could scent...something. It wasn't at all recognisable to her, Rogue, but Wolverine, he knew that scent. A low growl vibrated from her throat. She knew that she was mere minutes away from her self losing control and consciousness.

Scanning the aisles for any positive exit points, Marie noticed a side door which, judging from the position she was looking from, led towards the back of the gas station, where Marie would bet all her worldly possessions, held the vehicles of the two man staff of the gas station.

Moving quickly but quietly, Marie moved towards the side door, her senses straining for any betraying sound, movement or tell-tale sign that would reveal the location of her unknown assailant. Pushing the side door open, Marie widened the gap enough for her to be able to slip through into the night. Closing the door softly behind her, Marie continued on towards a old rusty pick up, a claw popped to disengage its locks, a feeling of triumph and relief ready to burst throughout her body.

She didn't even hear him coming.

A large heavy hand clamped onto her shoulder just as she was working on unlocking the door. The grip was almost painful, and Marie couldn't help the low moan of pain that escaped from her lips. He breathed heavily over her shoulder, sending chills down her spine, and causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. Her stomach rolled at the awful stench that seemed to emanate from her assailant.

"I've been waiting for you."

Her stomach dropped at those words, and Marie couldn't help but let the Wolverine gain more control over her mind. Slowly, so as not to startle the unknown man, Marie began to slip her right glove off, her body coiling tightly in preparation for an attack.

She never got that far.

A sharp searing pain exploded in the side of her skull before the blissful darkness claimed her.

--

Yay! R R as always, and hopefully, I can find some time to write up some more ;)


	6. On the Edge

**Title:** Strangers in the Dark - "On the Edge"

**Disclaimer:** see previous chapters

**Author's Notes:** Hmmm, you might notice that the formatting of this story has changed, along with the fact that it's not in first person. Oh, and it just occurred to me while writing this chapter that I've done a really bang-up job of setting the time in this fanfic… sorry about that… just for everyone's information, Marie went missing the night before while Logan is enquiring about Marie's whereabouts during the early hours of the morning…

Forgive any errors in the text or any ramblings, I was just in a hurry to get this done and posted that I was typing this up at work.. I didnt want to still be working on this project during school. And I know that this was a long time coming, but look at the bright side. At least it didnt take me a whole 2 years! ;)

...

She was cold.

Marie groaned, feeling sluggish and disoriented. Her arms were cramping, her legs felt numb and her back hurt. Struggling to move her limbs, Marie tried to focus on her surroundings, but couldn't seem to sight anything to focus on. Frustrated, she shook her head, trying to dislodge the hazy fog that seemed to be permanently settled on her mind, but to no avail. Marie gritted her teeth. She didn't know what was going on, and her shoulders were hurting like the blue blazes. A whimper worked its way past her lips, and tears burned the back of her eyes as Marie struggled to move.

"So you're awake, huh?"

That stopped Marie in mid-struggle. Suddenly, with startling clarity, the events leading up to her current situation replayed in her mind, and Marie knew she was in deep trouble. Fighting to keep calm, Marie tried to get her bearings around her, straining her senses for any minute detail that would give her a clue to her whereabouts. A movement to her left had her focusing in that direction. The sound of footsteps rang out in the quiet of the room, and Marie could mark the progress of the footsteps from the left of the room to right in front of her.

A slight rush of air brushed against her face before her hair was brushed behind her ear. Marie whimpered and jerked her head to the side. A growl of laughter reverberated near her ear and for the first time in her life, Marie was scared.

She began to struggle.

"There's no point. We're only gonna have a little fun and then you'll be free."

Marie screamed.

...

"Hey, you seen a woman come in earlier? Brown hair, brown eyes, about five foot four?"

"What time earlier? A lot of people fit that description."

Logan gritted his teeth. "It woulda been around last night then. Came in by herself."

The station attendant rubbed his chin, cocking his head to the side. "Sorry, can't say that I've seen any lone females last night. Not too safe for the women to be travelling alone, you know what I mean?"

A hard beat started playing inside Logan's chest. _**She's fine, she can take care of herself,**_ Logan reassured himself before grunting out a 'thanks' to the man and heading back out. Reaching the door, he placed his hand against it to push it open when the attendant's next words stopped him cold in his tracks.

"I do have to say though; some mean looking fella' came in around late last night. Seemed as if he was looking for something; asked me the same kinda thing, though he wasn't too kind about it. Almost had to reach for my shot gun for a minute back there 'cause I thought he was gonna pull something, but he musta found what he was looking for since he stopped all of a sudden and looked outta the window. Then he sorta smiled to himself and left."

Logan's head snapped back towards the attendant, "Do you know where he went?"

"Hmmm, don't know for sure since I had to serve another customer, but I don't mind saying that his smile freaked me out. Quite frankly, I hope I never have to see that man again."

Logan strode back to the attendant, his heart hammering at a million miles per hour. "What did he look like?"

"You think he was up to no good? I knew there was something not right about that man. Sure looked shifty."

Logan counted to ten, trying to maintain his calm and not give into the urge of smashing his fist into the talkative man. Gritting his teeth, he enunciated each word. "What. Did. He. Look. Like?"

"Well, no need to get all surly with me, mister. I distinctly remember he had dirty blonde long hair, about your height or maybe taller. He looked like he hadn't had a bath for awhile and it seemed as if he had claws, rather than hands. But that's silly, ain't it."

It was then the attendant realised that he was talking to himself, and that the man that he had previously been speaking to had simply vanished, with the only evidence of the man having been there being the door slowly closing itself.

"Well, I never."

...

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!

He should never have let her go; he shoulda taken her with him like he had thought to do earlier when they had shared that kiss.

Shit.

He had a uneasy feeling that the person the station attendant had been referring to was none other than Victor Creed, someone Logan remembered enough about to hate the stupid son-of-a-bitch. And if he had Marie...

Logan shook his head and tried to dislodge the unmistakable fear welling up within him. He had to believe that Marie was OK, that she was probably on her way to the border right now, catching a break with a friendly trucker.

He headed to the back parking lot and looked around. It was still dark out, and he couldn't see anything more than a few meters in front of him. He crept towards the one vehicle parked in the back and a scent he was all too familiar with assaulted his nostrils.

Hell.

It was him.

...

"What, no more pleas for mercy, innocent?"

Marie clenched her eyes shut, and tried to block him out. Her captor had taken the blindfold off while he had been on the phone to an unknown person earlier, allowing her to see her surroundings. She had blinked owlishly at first, letting her eyes adjust to the dimness of the room.

She had also gotten her first real view of her assailant. Dirty blonde straggly hair, eyes as black as the night and with an appearance that was similar to that of a wild mountain cat. Looking at him hit the fact that she was now at the mercy of a killer home.

His black eyes, so remote, so heartless, shook her to her very core. In them, she could see her own demise, could see that she would soon die at his hand or at the hand of his boss. The truth of the situation brought tears to her eyes. She felt so helpless. How did she get to this? How did her life turn out this way? Why did it turn out this way? To die in an unknown place without any relative to mourn for her, without a single friend in the world, without knowing what it was to live life, to have a family, to find love. Bitter tears streamed down her face.

At the sight of them, an unholy grin spread across Creed's face. When he had first been given this assignment, he couldn't help but feel a little pissed. He had been enjoying his little film when Magneto had summoned him on the mission. He had been contemplating ignoring the summons and putting it off until after he had finished the great show, but decided that in the interest of self-preservation, he should do as Magneto says.

Following Magneto's directions, he had ended up at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. He had stalked out this prey, and when he had captured her and taken a good look at her, he had been inordinately pleased. Not only was she not bad to look at, but he could think of several things off the top of his head that he could get her to do to him. After all, he had done his part of the job, and Magneto had not forbidden him to touch his prize.

Creed had it all figured out. He would have his little fun with her, and make sure not to hurt her too bad before taking her to Magneto so that he could use her for whatever it was he thought would make the rest of humankind bow to the likes of him.

With the grin still plastered on his face, he pulled the hunting dagger that he always kept in his boot out and began to take off his clothes.

...

The fact that Creed has his hands on her sprung him into action.

Immediately, he started to survey the area for any clues that could help him track them down. He noticed that there were foot prints leading away from the spot he was at, prints that were a little bit deeper than normal indicating that the owner of the foot prints was either very heavy, or had been carrying something. And judging from the print of the boots, Logan could only conclude that it was someone carrying a load with him.

Quickly, before any snow could fall and destroy any other lead that could help him, Logan followed the foot prints only to find that it stopped a few meters away at a more secluded place, where the overhead light no longer worked. The area was rarely visited by any patrons due to the distance that it was from the building, a great place to stash a get-away vehicle.

Grey fingerprints of light smudged the skies overhead, marking the beginning of the twilight hours, but there wasn't yet sufficient light for Logan to be able to make a full-blown effort in tracking. Frustrated by his own stupidity and helplessness and the situation, Logan ran an irritated hand through his hair and looked around.

It was then that he noticed them.

Two figures clad in black stood a little ways off to the side of the road; one seemed to be talking on the phone while the other, a female by the looks of it, seemed to be elevating off the ground. Logan shook his head and looked again. No doubt about it, she was elevating off the ground.

Mutants.

That startling fact registered into Logan's mind. Was it coincidence to find two mutants at the same place in which Marie, who Logan now knew to be mutant, had gone missing? Logan hadn't survived through sheer hell and evasion of the government by believing in coincidences.

Quickly and quietly, Logan stalked through the station, approaching the two figures from behind. From ten meters behind, Logan could hear bits of the conversation between the male figure and an unknown person. "We're too late. Magneto's got her."

It was the mere mention of the word 'her' that got Logan's hackles up, and the animal in him wanted to be unleashed. For some reason unbeknownst to him, these two people knew something about who had taken Marie, and he had to find out what they knew now. Unwittingly, his claws sprang out, and a low growl erupted from his throat as he moved forward towards the two figures.

He grabbed the first man by the throat, locking him into a choke hold and placing his claws just under his chin. He had the man effectively pinned that if he were to make any movement, he would not come away unscathed. At the sound of alarm from his partner, the white-haired female who had indeed been levitating off the ground turned to face Logan, her eyes a blank greyish-white.

The sound of thunder rolled overhead, and Logan ignored the urge to look up, choosing instead to focus solely on the other partner of this duo. "Who are you?!"

The female whirled around at the sound of her partner's choked cry. "Scott!"

It didn't seem possible, but her eyes seemed to swirl in much the same manner of a storm, the white and grey colours of her eyes seemingly doing combat with each other. Overhead, thunder raged more loudly with lightening striking dangerously close to their location. The air about them grew icy, causing little pinpricks to stab repeatedly at Logan. Deciding that the female counterpart was the bigger threat out of the two, Logan quickly took out the male, sending a sharp jab into his solar plexus before ruthlessly kicking him to the ground via a kidney shot.

Satisfied that he had disabled him for the moment, Logan stalked towards the female counterpart. He studied his opponent, sizing her up. From what he could tell so far, she seemed to have the ability to manipulate the weather. But was that the full extent of her mutation? Logan wondered. Not really one to go against his standing policy of 'Act first, ask questions later', Logan shrugged off his mental questions and growled. He didn't really give a damn what the full extent of her mutation was; if she had anything in the least to do with Marie's disappearance, than Logan was going to make sure that she would soon regret it.

The white witch held her hands up in front of her, a pitch for diplomacy. Logan was intent on ignoring her but it was her next words that stopped him cold. "We have no issues with you. We are simply looking for a young lady whose gone missing."

The beast inside strained against its restraints, snarling at the prospect of a confrontation, but Logan clamped down urgently on the desire, the knowledge of Marie's whereabouts more important than anything at the present moment. He eyed the lady warily, "what do you know of Marie? And why are you looking for her?"

The woman hesitated, glancing over Logan's shoulder. Logan silently cursed himself for being stupid enough to let his guard down. He'd never done something that stupid before. Swinging around, he had a quick second of comprehension in which he was able to shift to the side before what would have been a solid punch grazed the side of his face. Grunting, Logan moved to block the next swing directed at his other cheek, mentally pulling back on the restraints on the beast. It whined in reaction, but with Marie in danger, he couldn't possibly let his hold up just yet.

"Scott. That is enough. We have other issues that concern us at the moment."

Logan watched as the male clenched his other fist, before slowly uncurling it. He wrenched his other hand out of Logan's grasp. Both men watched the other for a few minutes before the female grabbed her companion's attention. "What did the Xavier have to say?"

Scott raked a hand through his dishevelled hair before answering, "He's told us to stand-by while he relocates Sabertooth. He doesn't believe that they have gone too far."

Logan's head snapped up at the mention of Creed's codename. So, Logan thought to himself, he still operated by that name.

The muffled sound of a phone ringing pulled Logan out of his thoughts, and he watched as Scott pulled the phone from the snow and answered it. Scott listened intently before answering with a "yes, sir" and hanging up. Totally dismissing Logan, Scott looked to his female companion. "Ro, he's found her. We've got to move fast, though."

The white witch nodded before moving quickly alongside Scott. Logan stared after them for a bit before starting after them. "Hang on, one damn moment."

The pair did not slow down, but Scott did look over his shoulder to address Logan. "Sir, this does not concern you. Go about your own business."

Logan clenched his teeth, ignoring the deep urge to slam his fist into his face. "Seeing as Marie is my business, I think it definitely concerns me."

"I can't imagine what she would have to do with the likes of you."

"I don't give a shit about what you can imagine. The bottom line is if you have information about whereabouts, then you can bet your ass I'll be coming along as well."

"Why do you want to come along, anyway?"

"None of your damn business, one-eye."

"Scott." It was a warning from his female companion. Evidently, she had had enough. "We have more important things to focus on. And sir," she paused, looking over her shoulder to look at Logan, "I have no problem with you coming along if you will help us get to Marie. But let it be clear that Scott and I call the shots."

"Ororo, I--"

"We don't have the time for this. We have a mission at hand, or have you forgotten that we're dealing with Sabertooth here?"

It looked as if Scott were going to say something more, but seemed to have thought better of it. "Just don't get in our way" he mumbled.

The trio continued on for another hundred or so paces before both Scott and Ororo came to a stop. Logan noticed then the large, dark bulk hidden amongst the trees. He could smell the unmistakeable scent of jet fuel, which perked his interest. If these two were from an organisation that could afford its own jet, then this wasn't just your average mutant organisation. They were loaded enough to have certain luxuries.

Logan followed the pair towards the bulk. A few seconds later, a lighted ramp extended from the darkness, and Logan followed the pair up the ramp and into the inside of the jet. Taking a seat at one of the front seats, he buckled his seatbelt while watching the other two fiddle with a few controls. The jet jolted into motion, causing an uneasiness to churn in Logan's stomach. He ignored the queasy feeling and tightened the belt, holding on for dear life.

A few minutes later, the ordeal came to an end when the plane landed with another heart-stopping jolt that caused Logan's stomach to roll again. There was no doubt about it, that tight-ass didn't have any idea how to fly the damn plane. Unbuckling his seat belt, he made his way to the ramp, following it down.

He waited for Scott and Ororo to join him, and followed them through the dense bushland. They continued for a few miles before he caught a faint whiff of Marie's scent. Everything inside him urged him to take immediate action. He turned to the other two, "she's nearby."

Scott looked at him before continuing on, "Yes, we know, she's currently being held at an abandoned cabin not too far from here."

At that information, Logan surged forward. All his protective instincts concerning Marie came out to play, and the beast inside him wanted nothing more than to retrieve his mate from the clutches of that evil son-of-a bitch.

He stopped at the realisation that he had referred to Marie as his 'mate'. What the hell? Logan shook his head. In the small amount of time that he had known Marie, she had managed not only to arouse his protective and sexual instincts, but she had single-handedly managed to rile up the animal inside him, who looked out for no-one else with the exception of yours truly.

Logan was pulled out of his thoughts at the hand signal given by Scott to stop. He cautiously sniffed, looking for any other tell-tale scents, but the usual scents associated with nature filled his nostrils. He caught another faint whiff of Marie's scent, but this time, he could smell the fear laced with it along with something else. Something slightly metallic. Logan sniffed again.

Blood. Marie's blood.

His heart stopped beating. The animal inside him sprang into action, and he was helpless to prevent the animal from taking over.

…

It kicked the door of the cabin down.

The scent of blood assaulted its nostrils. There was so much blood. Too much blood.

He could see its mate, curled up in a ball on the floor. But where was the monster? The Wolverine extracted its claws and stalked silently through the cabin. He could hear his mate making distressed sounds, sounds that brought a different kind of pain to him. Not the usual pain, but pain nonetheless. He longed to go to his mate and nuzzle her, but he had to take care of the enemy before he could do that. He needed to make sure that she was safe, that the enemy couldn't hurt her anymore.

The slight shift of air at the back of his neck had him spinning around sharply, just in time to see Sabertooth make it through the back door. Snarling at both the sight of the foul creature that dared touch his mate and at the prospect of ripping him apart, the Wolverine gave chase.

A burst of red light erupted from nowhere, catching Sabretooth in its middle. He went down on one knee, and the Wolverine bore down on him.

He showed him no mercy.

With his extended claws, he drove them deep into his chest before going for the final blow, severing the enemy's throat. He stood over the enemy, making sure that he was dead. Satisfied that his mate was safe, he spat on the monster as a final insult before running back to his mate.

She was still curled in the ball as he last saw her. He let out a howl of despair at the broken sight of her. He had failed. He hadn't protected her like he should of. He knelt down beside her, nuzzling her cheek, licking the blood away in order to clean his mate. He certainly didn't deserve to be with her, but he wanted a chance to be with her, to protect her and to keep her safe. Always.

At his gentle touch, she looked up at him. Tears filled her eyes and spilled over her cheeks, running down her face to drop silently on the wooden floor below. The Wolverine let out a low keening sound, wrapping his arms around his mate. She tucked her head under his chin and cried silently. She managed to choke out a few words before the sobs overcame her.

"I thought that you would never come."

...

Whew!! Glad that chapters done! R&R as always and I'll try to get the next chapter out faster!


	7. Look After You

**Title:** Strangers in the Dark – "Look After You"

**Disclaimer:** see previous chapters

**Author's Note:** Real life seems to keep getting in the way…so this chapter was a little later in coming than I had first hoped. Anyways, thanks so much to all the wonderful people who reviewed, this chapter goes out to you! =)

…

**I wonder what the Professor**

**will think of these two**

**- Ororo**

…

They were inseparable.

Disturbingly so.

Scott glanced over his shoulder at the couple, his sensibilities utterly perturbed. He wasn't sure what kind of relationship the two had, but Marie looked awfully young to him, and he couldn't imagine what circumstances would lead to her being stuck with him with the exception of something quite sinister. And since she didn't seem to have anyone else in her life to look out for her, he thought that he should designate himself as her caretaker, seeing as it was the only right thing to do.

She looked absolutely wretched. She still had blood smears covering what skin was visible under the blanket she was wrapped in. Scott had seen the way Logan had tried to "clean" her, which in his opinion wasn't too hygienic. He had also seen when Logan had pulled away from her, like he had been jolted, which Scott figured could be something to do with her mutation, something that Charles had the foresight to warn them against.

He looked over his shoulder again. Yep, no doubt about it, he had a lot to tell the professor.

Forty minutes later, they touched down in the underground hangar directly beneath the basketball court. Turning off the jets, Scott unbuckled and strode through the jet, pushing on the release button that opened up the ramp. Leading the way, he exited off of the jet via the ramp, with Ororo ushering the two behind him. Up ahead, just inside the secured doors leading into the underground hangar, Jean, the team medical doctor and fiancé stood at her customary position, waiting for the team to return when the X-Men were not required to embark on these types of routine missions.

Scott watched as she cast a roving eye over him before flicking over his shoulder, taking in the horror of what was following behind him no doubt. Eyes widening, she moved her stethoscope to her ears, and rushed forward to take a closer look at the injured girl. Scott moved to intercept her, catching her in his arms and preventing her from getting any closer. "No, Jean," he murmured, shaking his head for emphasis.

She struggled against his grasp. "Scott, I—"

Scott merely tightened his hold on her, "No, it's her. She doesn't seem to be dangerous but her emotional and physical state at this very moment is quite unstable. She might hurt you."

Jean subsided, knowing that he was right. She straightened out of his hold and strode swiftly towards the nearby med room, issuing a command over her shoulder for them to follow her. Knowing better than to ignore an issued request from his beloved, Scott motioned for everyone to follow after her. They walked down the blue lit corridor, passing the danger room on their way to the medical bay. Inside, equipped with the latest medical advancements known to this current time, a blue, furry beast in a lab coat was hunched over a rack of test tubes. At their arrival, the beast let out a murmur of surprise before rushing to the group at the sight of the injured girl.

Immediately, Logan growled a warning, which brought the beast up short. "My stars, what ever is the matter with him?"

"Ignore him. He's got a few issues that he needs to have discussed with the Professor."

In reply, Logan held up a hand and popped his middle claw out at Scott. The women rolled their eyes before Jean stepped forward to take control of the situation. "Scott, I think you and Ororo should head up and see the Professor. Hank and I should be able to handle things from here."

"Jean, I don't think that's such a great idea, I mean, I don't think anyone is really safe with him—"

"Scott! I'll be fine. Seriously. Hank is here. Besides, you need to go and see Charles and I need to see to this girl."

Scott looked as if he would argue further, but Ro grabbed his arms at Jean's signal, dragging him out of the medical bay. Scott decided that he wouldn't push the issue, straightening up and following 'Ro to Charles's office. He would voice his concerns with the professor.

…

To say that the Wolverine was being a difficult man was a vast understatement. While Jean was scrubbing up and putting on latex gloves for protection, Hank began to take a preliminary look at the girl's wounds.

Or at least tried to.

Every time Hank tried to get close to the patient, the Wolverine would let out a low warning growl. Hank, despite reassurances to the surly man that he simply wanted to help, gave up and waited for Jean to arrive. Hank wasn't afraid to admit that he was quite wary of the man either and wished not to further agitate the hostile guest.

Moments later, Jean finally arrived, lab coat swishing about as she strode confidently through the med bay doors. Making her way over to the patient lying quietly, she opened in greeting by saying softly yet firmly, "Hello. My name is Dr. Jean Grey. I'm just going to see how extensive the damage is, so you let me know if you start to feel uncomfortable or if you have any pain. Dr. Hank and I will see to you now. Are you comfortable?"

Wordlessly, the girl nodded, not opening her eyes. At a nod from Jean, Hank moved from his spot in the corner and approached the patient. They both leant over the girl mere seconds before the Wolverine let out a growl of protest. Both doctors looked up to see the Wolverine standing off to the side, his face ominous and baring his teeth at the both of them. Jean merely lifted a brow. "I need to see to my patient. You're getting in my way."

A tense moment of silence passed before the girl on the bench spoke up, "Logan." The man in questions looked at the girl. She called his name again and he moved over to her side, bending down so that his face hovered inches away from hers. The two doctors moved discreetly away and off to the side and watched as the girl opened her eyes, gently rubbing her fingers up and down his flannel covered arm with the whispered assurance that she was fine, that she needed for these good people to make her feel better and that the faster they were able to do it, the faster they would get to be alone with each other.

She murmured those words over and over until finally, a great shudder running, through his body, he bent and brushed his lips against her hair before moving back, leaving the doctors to work in peace yet continuing to stand guard because these people were still strangers and not to be trusted.

She had bruises all over her body from the neck down. Her cheek and belly had vicious scratches on it. Her right radius was fractured and she was going to need a few stitches. When Jean decided that it was time to question her patient about more personal matters, she sent the two men out with Logan only going after constant reassurances and some amount of cajoling from the girl. When they were finally out, Jean smiled down at her patient before continuing, "Now, it's just you and me now. I'm going to ask you a very personal and sensitive question. Take your time answering, there's no rush and remember that none of this is your fault at all, OK?"

The girl nodded mutely. Jean gave a gentle smile, "good. Now, did Sabertooth touch you anywhere in a sexual manner?"

Jean could see the girl pale visibly, and rubbed her shoulder, saying, "It's alright. Take your time."

The girl was silent for a few minutes before she spoke up in a very small voice. "He didn't actually rape me, but he came close enough."

Jean continued to stay silent, her fingers a constant soothing pressure on the girl's shoulder. She loathed pressing the girl during a very vulnerable time but she needed to be sure she was fine and that no further preventive methods were needed in this case. "When you say close enough, do you mean he still sexually assaulted you without rape?"

The girl looked away. Jean continued in silence, maintaining human contact through the slight rubbing of her shoulder. It was a while before she spoke up again. "If you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it."

She patted her, wanting to push her some more but knowing that this was not the right time for her to open up. "No-one has the power to make you feel anything unless you let them. You'll make a full recovery in no time. And if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm always willing to lend an ear."

The girl nodded silently. "Thank you. So, what happens now?"

"Well, I know that the Professor would like to speak with you today, if you're feeling up to it. Otherwise, it can wait until tomorrow and I can show you to your room now so you can let your body rest."

She bit her lip as thought raced through her mind. "Are you sure he wouldn't mind if I saw him tomorrow? I'm just not up to having company right now."

Jean nodded, "yes, that's fine. I'll just show you to your room now…?"

"Rogue," Marie said quickly. "Just Rogue."

Jean looked undecided for a minute, seeming as if she was going to push the issue but finally dropped it and smiled. "Rogue it is then."

…

Logan's own meeting with the Professor was anything but simple. And he was a man that hated complications.

After seeing Marie safely to her room and leaving her in a somewhat restful sleep, Logan had followed Jean and Hank to the "Professor's" office. Upon arrival, he was surprised to see that the Professor was a short, bald-headed man in a wheelchair. He couldn't help it. He laughed. "What do they call you? Wheels?"

At the Professor's merely indulgent smile, Scott thought that he should stand up for his mentor since he didn't seem to understand the fact that he had just been insulted by the lumberjack. "Hey, wise guy. I don't think you understand who you're speaking to—"

Logan rounded on the guy, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, "you wanna get outta my way?"

"Logan. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

The man in question paused.

"Travelling from place to place, not knowing who or what you are."

His prey forgotten, Logan whipped around to look at his new target, "shut up."

The Professor merely paused, "I can help you."

It was Logan's turn to pause, wary of the wheel-chair bound man. "How?" Immediately, loud thoughts (or were they voices?) burst into his mind. No, wait, it wasn't any of his thoughts, it was someone else's…

_**You're not the only one with powers.**_

Logan looked back at the slight grin on the Professor's face. He cocked his head to the side. "What is this place?"

…

There was a soft knock on her door.

Disoriented, she went to shift onto her side, but a stab of pain shot up from her ribs, sparking off other signals of pain all over her body. A whimper of pain escaped her lips and she gritted her teeth as her eyes stung with tears.

"Marie? I'm coming in."

The door opened and she looked with interest as a tall, dark man entered her room. Closing the door quietly, he strode over to the bed, taking a seat at her bed side and switched on the bed side lamp. A warm glow of light spilled over her features and she rubbed her eyes so they can adjust to the sudden light. It was then she realised where she was and why she hurt so much.

"Hey, how're you feeling?"

Marie gave a small smile at the concern on his face. "Better now that I've slept some. How about you?"

Logan grimaced and knelt down beside the bed, his face looming over hers as he scanned her face for signs of pain. "I've never been so fucking scared in my life. Sweetheart, don't ever do that to me again, I don't think my heart can take it."

Surprised at the endearment, Marie could only stare at her former captor, amazed at the depth of feeling behind his words. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she realised that perhaps there would have been at least one person to mourn her were she to have died earlier at the hands of Sabretooth. Moved and utterly floored, she moved her hand slowly but surely, touching his arm and sliding it down.

Logan, realising what Marie was trying to do, swallowed convulsively and gripped her small hand in his, laying their entwined hands on the bed beside her. It was then that she noticed his gloves. She frowned. "You don't have to wear that. I can get my gloves on." She shifted in the bed, intent on grabbing her gloves from the side drawer table, but froze as pain shot through her thorax. Logan placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back onto the bed.

"Don't move. If you want something, I'll get it for 'ya. But if this is about me wearing gloves, its nothing, I don't mind wearing gloves if it means I get to touch 'ya some."

Marie continued to frown. "But you shouldn't have to—"

"I said don't worry about it."

Marie laid in silence, accepting the fact that she couldn't sway Logan's opinion on the issue. Moments of companionable silence passed before Marie yawned, feeling drowsy again. Logan noticed the yawn. "You feelin' tired, again? You should probably get some more sleep in and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Marie quickly tightened her hold on hand, causing Logan to stop. "P-please. If you don't mind. Can you stay with my awhile? I d-don't wanna be alone."

Logan looked down and saw the panic, the despair and wanted to yell with fury at what the bastard had done. He nodded, wanting nothing more than to calm Marie's fears. He removed his boots, walked over to the other side of the double bed, and lay down beside her, making sure not to bump her too much. Moving over onto his side, he clasped her hand in his again. "Is this alright?"

"Yes. Thank you, Logan."

"Sleep, darlin'. I'll take care of you."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

…

Two weeks after their move into the "X-Men Mansion", Logan came to realise the extent of the damage to Marie's psyche. Not that he really knew what her exact personality was, but he could guess that it was a whole lot more open.

It had been a few days before Marie had had enough strength to leave her room, in which she was wheeled around in a wheelchair due to her sore ribs and Logan's anxiety. They had both gone down to see the Professor in which he graciously extended a warm welcome and the use of his home if and when she was ready to move on.

She still remained mostly in her room while her various injuries healed over the two weeks, some still mending, and others fading away to mere yellow, ugly bruises. Seeing the scars on her cheek was enough to make him want to kill the son of a bitch all over again, but what really got to him were the nightmares, and the helplessness he felt when she was tossing and turning on the bed. It scared the hell out of him, and every time he would ask her about them, she would shake her head and tell him that she was fine and to stop worrying about her.

This brought him to yet another topic of annoyance. Though he had been given a room of his own which was located one floor down from hers, he had yet to spend one full night in it as he only used it to shower and change, otherwise, he spent his nights with Marie in her room. This didn't sit well with the resident dick, of course, which just pissed Logan off. How the hell did he get off trying to tell him he shouldn't be spending unusual amounts of time with Marie? If he wanted to spend the rest of his unnatural life looking after the only person that seemed to give a shit about him, then that was his own business.

And bloody hell, what the hell could he possibly be able to do with her while she was recovering from the attack? He knew what people thought of him, that he was just a worthless animal, and they were right to some extent. Yeah, he was an animal, but would he go as far as to force himself on a brutally attacked victim? No way in fucking hell. And he was getting tired of trying to prove that he was not an animal.

He currently sat brooding on the railing of his balcony, leaning against the brick wall and smoking one of his prized cigars from his quickly dwindling stash. He could see Marie sitting in one of the garden benches just below staring off into space.

He had noted earlier when the lady named Ororo had stopped to speak to her before tending to her garden that she had been very reluctant to speak to her. But despite her reluctance, he could see that she would answer each and every one of the questions posed to her. It wasn't until Scott spoke to her that he noted the change to her demeanour. She was noticeably agitated, hands shaking and refusing to make eye contact.

It frustrated him, he realised. By the end of the week, after observing the way she interacted with everyone, he wanted to slam his fist into something repeatedly. He was going to do something about it soon, he promised himself.

…

He woke up early as usual, but instead of lying quietly in bed to watch Marie while she still slept, he slipped quietly from the bed and stood by the window. He ran a hand through his dishevelled hair and stared out the window.

What the hell was he going to do?

He didn't want Marie to be walking on egg shells around people for the rest of her life, and neither did he think he was the best person to be talking to her about what happened since he was more than likely to mess things up even further. But then again, he wasn't sure who else she would be willingly to talk to since it was most evident that she didn't want to be speaking to anyone outside of him, which didn't leave him much of a choice. Ah, hell.

Light fingers skimmed his shoulders and he wondered as to how the hell he could have missed her moving around behind her. Showed just how important it was for him to freaking get this over and done with if not for his peace of mind. He slowly turned around so as not to spook her. Looking at her, he was gut-wrenched.

That just wasn't right. Even after the shit he dragged her through earlier, he'd never seen this face before, the look of total and utter defeat. He growled knowing there was nothing left for him to do but to make this right.

"Marie, we need to talk."

Her eyes clouded over and her throat worked before she answered him. "About what?"

He tried for gentleness. "You know what."

She stepped away, and shook her head vigorously. "I-I…no. I can't."

Logan stepped forward, following her. "Marie, you have to. I see the way that you're hurting and you need to talk about it."

She backed up quickly only to hit against the side of the bed. She lost her footing and sat heavily on the bed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Frustrated that she would lie to him after everything that they had been through together, he planted his hands on either side of her hips and leant forward. "Don't lie to me."

She quickly fell back onto the bed to get further distance herself, but it proved useless as he simply climbed onto the bed. His domineering position over her caused something inside her to snap and she sprang into action, kicking and thrashing about. Grunting when one of her kicks landed, he straddled her legs, trapping them in between his hard thighs and grabbed her wrists, holding her down so that she couldn't hurt him or herself any longer.

She continued to writhe around on the bed, still lost within the grasps of sheer panic. He held her as she struggled, saying over and over again, "it's alright, sweetheart. I'm here now. I'll take care of you."

Finally, she stopped struggling, and deep, hoarse cries erupted from her throat. Logan cradled her closer, pulling up the covers around them. He held her, he didn't know for how long, but he held her close while she cried. Time went by and finally, finally, the tears died down and she stirred tiredly against him. Rubbing her back gently, he lifted her chin so that he could look at her face.

With her red, puffy eyes, flushed cheeks and mussed hair, he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with the feeling of absolute contentment that overcame him. This was definitely where he was meant to be. He brushed a stray bang, being careful to avoid skin to skin contact, as he was sure she wouldn't appreciate another shock to her system.

Having ascertained for himself that she was indeed alright, he let her snuggle back into him, and they stayed that way for a time. Much later, when the sun was shining higher in the day, she lifted a hesitant hand to his shoulder and whispered her gratitude.

She told him everything. Told of the hopelessness, the despair, the brutality and in the privacy of their embrace, she found healing.

…

**Yes, it's done!! Whoo hoo… Took longer than I thought but I hope this is enough to tide you over for now :) As always, please read and review!**


	8. Torture: the sweetest kind

**Title:** Strangers in the Dark – "Torture: the sweetest kind"

**Disclaimer:** See previous chapters

**Author's Notes: **OK, so this is very, very late in coming out. Screw it, I can't please everyone. But to kinda appease everyone, I've made sure that this chapter was a lot longer than the others due to the delay (or at least I think its a lot longer than the others... if it isn't, you get one free flame, all other flames will be used to keep me and my Logan-muse warm during the upcoming winter nights |D ok that was kinda creepy)

**Random fact**: Did you know that there is no cookie dough ice cream in all of Sydney?!?! Can you freakin' believe that? I'm totally dying for it!! Sign my petition if you think Dairy Queen should open a store in Sydney :)

Oh, and you might notice that throughout the story, it changes perspectives, like from first person to I think second (meh, I failed English). For the record, I totally meant it.

…

**I remember waking up one morning after**

**her confession with a hard-on, having slept**

**with her in my arms. I can't believe how **

**much of a jerk I am for reacting like**

**that considering how much she's **

**already been through. Shit.**

**- Logan**

…

It felt good to be back to normal.

Or at least back to some semblance of normality that made me feel less like a freak and more like a human being, my mutation not withstanding.

After my break down the previous morning with Logan, we spent the next couple of days lazing in bed, with Logan only leaving the room to forage for some food down in the kitchen to bring back for us to enjoy. It was heaven. Pure heaven. Lazing around in bed with a very attractive, very _virile _alpha male was enough to have my toes curling in pleasure.

And in contrast to "The Incident", his size wasn't all that big of a worry to me, which was a major relief. I felt safe. I felt comforted and most of all, with his arms wrapped around me, I felt that nothing could ever shatter the safe cocoon in which I had wrapped myself in.

That was until I had woken up again one morning.

It was like I had woken up to a stranger. Gone were the indulgent smiles, the lazy back rubs and the openness between Logan and I. Instead, I was confronted with a quiet and distracted man, one that was already dressed and out of bed, hands clenched at his sides while he stared blindly out the bedroom window.

I wondered where he was at right now. I knew Logan had some personal demons he sometimes dealt with, ones that he didn't like talking about. And I hated it because it made me feel that he couldn't trust me to be there for him, to not be ashamed of him no matter what had happened. I went to move out of bed, but he had noticed that I was no longer asleep and was quietly watching him. Turning away from the window and heading towards me, he kneels down by the bed side. "How you feelin', kid?"

Kid.

Huh. So I had reverted back to kid again? Gone were the darling's and the sweetheart's? Maybe it was irrational of me, maybe it was a bit clingy of me, but how was it that he could blow so hot and cold with me? So we weren't officially in a relationship, and neither had there been any words between us that would have cemented the budding of a new relationship, but you'd think if the man in question was willing to kill for me that there would be some kind of an unspoken bond more than that which was purely platonic, right?

I wanted to test the waters and see where he stood concerning "us". Sitting up gingerly in bed, still mindful of the bruises on my ribs, I casually lift my arms and arched my back, affecting a lazy stretching motion, making sure that my sleeping shirt pulled tight over my breasts. Logan stared fixated over the said area for a moment before looking away, but not before I noticed the way his throat worked furiously, that Adam's apple bobbing erratically.

Interesting.

Cocking my head to the side and fighting the unholy grin that threatened to burst through, I gave him a concerned look. "Are you alright, sugar?"

Another silent struggle, with Logan's throat working over time before he burst to his feet. "Got something to do this morning. When you're ready, come down to the kitchens. The Professor wants to meet with us."

"You sure you don't want to wait here while I get ready? I'll only be a minute. I could also do with another back rub, pretty please?"

A quick look at some region below my face, another swallow before the reply, "uh, kinda hungry this morning. Wanna head down for a bite before all the kids get it." And Logan was gone, his heavy footsteps thudding down the hall.

Marie smiled to herself. So, he wanted to pretend these past couple of days and act as if none of it had ever happened, did he? Well then, Marie thought, this was war.

...

Marie had come down a half hour later to find Logan standing not in the kitchen like he said, but out on the back veranda which connected out into the back gardens that Ororo was always tending. He was leaning against the railing, staring out, lost in his thoughts, and Marie was loathe to interrupt. The outline of a strong man against the beauty of nature was a sight that she was enjoying very much at that moment.

"Hey."

Logan flicked his gaze over his shoulder before resuming his previous stance. "You ready, kid?"

Marie gritted her teeth at the phrase but shook it off. He'll come around sooner or later. "Sure."

The talk with Charles Xavier went over smoothly. In exchange for food and shelter, Logan offered his services to his secret elite team of X-Men. Marie was a bit apprehensive of it all, not wanting Logan to take part in something that was dangerous, but she didn't say anything, knowing how prideful a man such as Logan was, that he would rather pay his way through life rather than receive any handouts. And Marie loved him all the more for that.

She mentally pulled herself up short. _Loved him? _Did she really love Logan? After everything that she had suffered at his hand, after all the emotional turmoil that she had been put through? But Marie knew in her heart that she did. Her heart recognised the fact that he had never treated her severely (that was if you didn't include the incident in the parking lot, but then, that was a special circumstance), and it recognised the strength of character that Logan had. Despite the black holes of darkness that filled his past, the times of sheer desperation and sorrow, Logan had endured, had continued and adapted, had gotten stronger. So what if he didn't possess the manners and etiquette that other men had? Logan had shown her kindness, had looked out for her and ultimately, had come back for her.

She smiled tenderly to herself, firming her resolve to win Logan over and to make him confess that the chemistry between them wasn't just single-sided.

"Rogue?"

Marie blinked at the alias she had given herself and looked enquiringly at the Professor, who was waiting patiently on her reply. Actually, when she looked around the room at the other X-Men, she realised that he wasn't the only one waiting on a reply. Oh my, did she really just zone out during the all-important talk with the Professor? Trying to bluff her way through this, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Uh, yes."

Surprise flitted across the Professor's face before a look of pleasure settled. "Ah, Rogue, you would be a great addition to the team. I look forward to working with you to help you control your gift." He held his hand out and Marie looked at it blankly. Did she just agree to join the X-Men?

Angry voices burst into the shocked silence of the room.

"Now see here, Professor. I don't think it'd be all that wise to let her on the team. At the moment she would be more of a hazard than a help," Scott piped up.

"There ain't no way I'm letting her join the X-Men. You get me or you get no-one!" Logan growled.

The Professor held his hand up for silence. "I think that Rogue is more than capable of making a decision for herself. If she would like to join the team, I do not see why she cannot be allowed to join. Now gentlemen, I have some other business to attend to so if you will excuse me."

The Professor wheeled out of the room with Ororo following closely behind. The door shut quietly behind them, leaving Scott, Jean and Logan to stare in astonishment at Marie. Not liking the sudden tension that had entered the room, Marie, using as much tact as her southern upbringing taught her, gained her feet and smiled politely, nodding to the others before exiting the room herself. Breathing a sigh of relief in the corridor, she started to make her way back to her room but was brought up short when a hard hand clamped onto her shoulder. "Now wait just one damn minute!" Marie was whirled around to confront a pissed off Logan.

"What the hell did you think you were doing back there?"

Marie pursed her lips. "I joined the team, Logan. You have anything wrong with that?"

"Hell yeah I do. I don't want you going on missions and putting yourself in danger. I've joined the team and that's enough for the both of us. You can stay here and help out at the school."

"No, thank you. Contrary to what you think, I have no skills whatsoever that would benefit any of the children here. I think with the training that the Professor has offered for me, I'll definitely become a force to be reckoned with." _And I will never become a victim again,_ Marie thought bitterly.

"Kid--"

Marie's head snapped up at that title, her eyes narrowed on Logan's. If he so much as called her kid one more time...

"Kid, I just don't wanna see you get hu--oomph."

Marie smiled and straightened, disentangling herself from Logan's grasp and walked calmly away. The battle lines had indeed been drawn.

...

Logan watched from the corner of the dining hall, silently eating his dinner as he watched Marie from across the room.

After the sucker punch that she served him in the hall earlier, he thought to give her a little bit of breathing space, thinking that she was probably feeling a little bit crowded with him hanging around her all the time. Not to mention that some time apart would do him some good as well, seeing as his temper was still flaring over the fact that she had joined the X-Men as well. So, for the first time since they had gotten there, he had gone to his room and hung out, watching some hockey and drinking some Molsen while his thoughts drifted back to Marie.

It was strange, this feeling he had to protect her, to have her constantly with him at all times so that he could see for himself that she was alright. He'd never felt this way towards anyone before, even during the period of time that he couldn't quite remember, which he figured that if he had had anyone important to him that he had wanted to protect, he wouldn't have forgotten about her. So what was it with this particular girl?

He watched as she bit into her choice for dessert, lemon meringue pie, and felt his body tighten at the utter femininity of the task. Watching as her pink tongue flicked out to taste the pie before letting the morsel slowly pass between her soft lips, followed by the look of delight as she savoured the bite had him breaking out in a cold sweat. _That wasn't right_, Logan thought desperately, _how the hell could she make eating a pie look so damn sexy?_

He swallowed and looked quickly away, but it wasn't long before his gaze went back to Marie, his eyes all but devouring her. It wasn't until he was seriously contemplating joining Marie over at her table that he realised that he really had to get out of there before he did something he was going to regret. Rising abruptly from the table, he grabbed his plates and took them over to the collections counter, slamming them down in annoyance before striding out of the room, intent on heading to his room for another cigar and a beer.

Over at her table, Marie watched the scene with interest and allowed herself a small, victorious smile. Phase one was complete, and if the look on Logan's face was anything to go by, a success.

...

It was torture.

Pure, fucking sweet torture.

Logan wasn't sure whether or not he was having a nervous break down from the countless fantasies or if he really was the victim of a sick and twisted agenda. Since leaving the dining hall abruptly five nights ago, he constantly found himself in certain situations with Marie that he couldn't help but think of sex and of her. And damn if it wasn't being done on purpose.

The following day, the X-Men had gathered for a run through some fight simulations in their Danger Room so that the Professor could see how well they would go as a team. Logan of course had been paired up with Marie, not only because the original team were already paired and fine as it was, but also because Logan was more than a little bit insistent that Marie be with him on the missions.

And so the simulation started off simple enough, with the team's objective being to quietly infiltrate a FOH facility and retrieve a mutant child that was rumoured to be kept in one of their holding rooms. The mission had been a success, pulled off with not so much as a glitch, and Logan was forced to admit, grudgingly of course, that Marie was definitely no light weight when holding her own in fights. It wasn't until after in the change rooms (who was the genius behind making it uni-sex?) that the torture began.

Moving over to a row of lockers in which he found himself quite alone, Logan began to deftly strip out of his team outfit, peeling the leather suit off his arms and down his torso to the waist. He was about to peel it completely off when a slight sound alerted him to the fact that he wasn't alone anymore. Using his peripherals, he searched out the intruder and was stunned to see Marie in the next row of lockers over. He couldn't take his eyes off her as she slowly peeled her suit off, down past her hips and beyond, her knees locked and ass high in the air as she pulled the suit down to her ankles.

The sight of her bottom high in the air, barely covered by a black scrap of cloth, a sorry excuse for panties, brought Logan to full and immediate arousal, and he had to stifle a groan as he yanked the rest of his gear off, freeing his erection. He took several deep breaths, trying to gain a bit of control before he embarrassed himself in the fucking locker room. Deciding to forgo the shower for now, wanting to get to the safety of his room before he did something rash, he quickly shoved on his jeans, carefully doing up his fly lest he did himself some permanent damage. Much like the episode in the cafeteria, his gaze helplessly came back to Marie, and his eyes almost popped out of his head as he found her standing with her profile to him. He watched helplessly as she smoothed her hands over her bra-clad breasts, breasts that were all but spilling out of her sports bra, before heading down her torso and to the edge of her panties, her fingers hooking in on the sides, preparing to pull them down...

He ran. He'd never run so fucking fast in his life.

The following day, tormented all night by a constant bombardment of Marie-filled fantasies, Logan cautiously surveyed the hall outside his room, hoping to avoid Marie at all costs. He technically wasn't really avoiding her, he just didn't think that seeing her so soon after the locker incident was smart for his self-control, considering the fact that he still had a hard-on and wanted very much to show it to her.

Logan decided that the safest course for him today was to stay outdoors. Besides, he wanted to have a closer look at One-eye's bike. He made his way through the school without incident and to the safety of the garage, letting out a low whistle at the various toys the Professor had stored in there. His gaze went straight to the motorbike and he walked over to it, smiling in appreciation. It was during his inspection of the bike that Logan heard the garage door open and the click of booted heels moving towards him. Glancing over his shoulder, he noted who it was and groaned inwardly. Of all the damned luck.

"Marie. What brings you here?"

The brunette in question smiled casually, lifting one negligent shoulder. "We ran out of cookie dough ice-cream so I volunteered to get some more. Ororo gave me one of the Professor's cards, suggesting I should pick up some things that I might need as well. Wanna come?"

Logan swallowed before answering, rising to his feet. He ran a quick assessing eye over her, noting the tight, form fitting jeans, the denim jacket over the white midriff, complete with black leather gloves. "Uh, I dunno. Was planning on having a quiet day today, just hanging out here and stuff."

Marie stepped closer, arching her back so that her breasts strained against the white t-shirt, almost brushing against his front, causing Logan to hastily step back. "Are you sure about that? I managed to talk Scott into lending me the keys to his bike."

"You're serious?"

Marie dangled the keys in front of him. "Yep."

Logan thought about it. Who the hell was he kidding, he wanted nothing more than to get on that bike and take a ride with his girl. "Sure, but I'm driving."

She smiled at that, handing the keys over. Getting on the bike, Logan kick-started the engine and waited for Marie to get on. She slid on behind him, leaning her soft breasts against his back and Logan almost cursed aloud. Wrapping her arms around his middle, she scooted forward until he could feel the heat of her seeping though his clothes. He gritted his teeth, and his damn cock hardened at the feel of her thighs cradling his, at the heat that emanated from the juncture of her thighs. _Fuck_, he cursed inwardly. It was too late to turn back now, all he could do was endure the drive to and from the store and then he could escape to the safety of his room.

His resolve firmly in place, he started off towards the store, riding through the school grounds and out through the mansion gates, hitting the streets towards the closest store. The feeling of freedom that assaulted him during the ride, and the absolute rightness of having Marie with him on the ride astounded him. The urgent desire to continue the ride on towards Canada, to take Marie with him up to the cabin he had tucked away in the mountains, to settle down with her was so staggering that he almost did just that.

_What the hell?_ What the hell was wrong with him? Since when did the Wolverine "settle down". Fuck, staying at the mansion must really be making a pansy out of him; he needed to hit the fight bars again, get himself roughed up some. He shook his head at himself and gave a quick look over his shoulder at his passenger and was hit in the gut by the look of utter joy, of freedom, of careless abandonment on her face as she tilted her head back to enjoy the ride. He'd never seen her look that way before, and it was testimony to how far she'd come in recovering from her run-in with Sabertooth.

At that moment, he knew he'd found his mate, knew that for the rest of his life, he was only ever going to want her, to need her, to spend time with her, to do everything with her. He shuddered, feeling the full weight of his realisation and the utter hopelessness of it. There was no way in hell that she would ever settle for someone like him. What the fuck did he have to give her? A cabin in the mountains with the barest of essentials, no last name, no assets, not much of anything save for his red truck and the Canadian money he'd saved up from his fights. There was no way he could possibly have her, no way that he could do that to her, she deserved so much more.

He drove on in silence, steeling his heart against the hurt of what he had to do. The Wolverine would survive, hadn't he proven it before? He needed to content himself with the fantasies he had of her, letting the time he had with her now before she inexorably moved on warm him and last him the rest of his life.

The stop at the store, followed by the detour to the mall was relatively quick. Logan had only had to wait twenty minutes before he noticed Marie again, a few purchases in tow as well as a sheer black scarf wrapped around her neck. He raised his brow at it. "That's new."

She smiled, blushing a bit. "Sure is. I've got big plans for it."

Logan wondered at the blush.

The ride back home was much like the ride to the store, with Logan enduring through being surrounded by her softness and heat. After seeing Marie off to her room and throwing the keys at Scott, Logan returned to his room feeling absolutely drained. Sure he might still be plagued with those Marie-fantasies and that damned hard-on that never seemed to fully subside, but at least he'd seen Marie enjoy herself today.

The next three days found Logan much in the same predicament.

Watching Marie eating was wreaking havoc on his sanity (he just had to leave the room period when she reached for a banana), not to mention the havoc caused when Marie would find him in the most isolated of places and manage to casually brush her breasts against him, looking so innocent when it happened so that Logan had to assume it was an accident and that he really was sick in the head to be constantly thinking of sex and Marie.

He couldn't take any more of it. He really couldn't. His body was on the verge of exploding, having endured all that it could without being able to release any of its pent up energy. If he saw Marie at all today, he knew he was going to do something stupid, like fuck her brains out, which would be stupid because he knew she wasn't that sort of girl and that she deserved so much more.

Logan continued to lie in bed. It was 10am, well past his usual wake up time. Not wanting to endure another day of torture, he opted to stay in his room to watch the game and drink his way into oblivion, something he had yet to accomplish considering his healing abilities though it never stopped him from trying. It was during half-time that a knock sounded on his door.

"Yeah, who is it?"

"Its me, Marie."

_Shit._ The way his body had reacted to the sound of her voice was warning enough not to let her into the room. Having her in such close proximity to his bed would be asking for trouble. "Uh, did you want something?"

A pause before she answered. "I just wanted to see how you were doing. I didn't see you at breakfast or lunch so I wanted to check up on you, see if you were OK."

"Yeah, just thought to chill and watch the game today. Not feeling too well which is why I'm in here."

"You're not feeling well? Oh no, let me check, OK? I'm coming in."

Before he could tell her no, the door swung open and Marie strolled in, looking worried. _Shit_. He didn't want her worried about him, especially since his "sickness" revolved around the fact that he was fantasizing about her. "Its nothing, really. Just wanted to stay in my room, today, that's all."

She came forward, leaning over him to place a gloved hand on his brow. She frowned. "You're kinda warm. Maybe you are coming down with something."

Logan swallowed, looking away from the opening of her shirt. _Yeah, he was coming down with something, alright_. Marie straightened before smiling down at him, squeezing his hand. "Its my turn to take care of you."

Logan sat up, wanting to clear up the confusion. "No, it really isn't nece--"

"Its fine. I don't mind at all."

"I'm serious. Its nothing at all--"

"Can you just relax for a moment? It's OK--"

"--Would you listen to me--"

"--to need someone once in awh--"

"Marie! I don't need your help, OK?!"

_Shit_.

She froze at that and her eyes filled with tears. _I'm a fucking shit_. Logan moved to grab her, to apologise, but she jumped to her feet, her face averted from his. "I'm sorry," she muttered before leaving, slamming his door behind her. Logan scrambled out of bed, wanting to chase after her, but he subsided, sitting back down on the bed. _Maybe this was for the best_, Logan thought. _This way, she would start looking somewhere else for companionship, and eventually, find someone she really deserved._

...

Phew! Haha, can't believe I've finally updated. _**Thanks for the lovely reviews, the alerts and the favs!!!**_ **R&R** as always and I'll see you guys in the next chapter :)


	9. Running

**Title:** Strangers in the Dark - "Running"

**Disclaimer:** see previous chapters

**Author's Notes:** Its another update!! Whoo hoo!! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed!! We finally reached the triple digits XD

...

**She's like, all weirded out today.**

**I wonder what's going on with**

**her today? Is she alright?**

**- Jubilee**

...

She was avoiding me.

Ah, shit. I knew that would happen, but knowing it and then experiencing it is a completely different thing altogether. I didn't think it would be complete torture, seeing her around but not actually being able to talk to her.

I'd cornered her once, wanting to at least apologise for my stupid behaviour towards her, to let her know that my offer to take care of her still stood, despite my being a jackass. She had been sitting alone in one of the garden benches, giving me an opportunity to make things right. Though, when I approached silently from behind, she froze and whipped around. When she realised it was me, the look of shame, depression and fear had grounded me to the spot. I had only seen one such look of similarity during the aftermath of her capture by Sabertooth, and the look of it had been enough to scar me forever.

To see that look on her now, and to know that I was the one that had caused it, had my inner demons howling, making me want to rip something, anything, to shreds. I wanted to kill myself, over and over again for having made her feel like that. Guttered, I had stood still, watching helplessly as tears had filled her eyes before she burst from the seat and ran.

Ever since then, I'd been frequenting bars in the hopes of once and for all drinking myself into oblivion. But always, there was never enough liquor to dull my senses, to take away the pain and the guilt, and the memory of that look was always there, always lurking in the peripheral of my brain. I guess it was only natural for the dreams to reoccur. Dreams that had let me be during my moments of bliss with Marie were now back in full force.

...

It'd been a couple of days after that encounter in the garden.

After all the pep talks I had given myself over the past week since the shameful incident in Logan's room, I had always envisioned that I would be able to keep calm and collected the next time I saw him.

I was wrong.

All the pep talks in the world couldn't have prepared me for it. Seeing him dressed in his customary jeans, white shirt and brown leather jacket. The strength that I had so craved visible in the way he moved, the way he seemed to tackle life head on had made my insides quiver. This man could do things to me that no other man had ever been able to do before and it scared me, how intensely I wanted him.

And like a ninny, I had run. Run to the safety of my room, locking myself in and hiding under the covers, tears of bitterness burning my eyes as I tried desperately to hold them at bay.

So much for acting as if nothing had happened.

Over the next few days, Marie had played the coward and hid up in her room. She had given into the tears, into the despair, and had cried herself sick, opting to stay in her room rather than having to endure company. She didn't think she could have pasted a smile on her face for the benefit of everyone at the mansion.

Jean had come to her room to check up on her several times, and along with Ororo, had brought her some food trays so she could continue hiding in her room. They had always offered to talk, though Marie would politely refuse. She wasn't about to open up and start sharing her problems. She was the Rogue, she did things alone. She might need a crutch for a bit, but she eventually righted herself, and continued on in life.

After the third day, Marie shook her head at her pitiful behaviour, telling herself to pull it together. She couldn't keep hiding in her room, nor would she be able to hide from Logan forever. It was best that she try to continue on with her life. Resolution firmly in place, Marie showered and changed into a fresh pair of pyjamas. She was starting anew, she promised herself as she lay in bed.

It was well past midnight, and Marie was having some trouble sleeping as usual. After tossing and turning in her bed for over an hour, Marie sighed irritably to herself and kicked the covers off her, sitting up wearily. There was no hope for it, she was going to have to head down to the kitchens and warm up some milk, the fail proof method in getting her to sleep. With that in mind, she opened her door quietly and slipped through into the corridors.

She wasn't sure how it happened, but before she realised it, she was standing outside his room. Logan's room. She shook her head incredulously, her mind reeling from where she'd automatically gone. What the hell was wrong with her? Sighing, she turned to leave, but a sudden sound coming from his room stopped her. Her brow furrowed as she gingerly took a step closer to his door, straining her ears as she listened for any more sounds.

She heard it again. A grunting sound.

By the pitch and tone of Logan's voice, it sounded like he was having a nightmare. Debating with herself on whether she should butt her nose in, she gathered her resolve and reached for the door knob. It turned with ease, surprising her for a moment before she pushed the feeling aside and entered, moving quickly and quietly into Logan's room.

She immediately noted the light sheen of sweat on his forehead, the rigidness of his body. He grunted again, and his head whipped to the side, bringing Marie closer to his bedside.

"Logan. Logan, wake up. Logan," she called softly. She reached out to touch his shoulder but pulled herself up short in the last minute. Damn it, she'd forgotten her gloves! Now all she could do was stand pathetically next to him, hoping she could wake him up with her urgings.

"Logan, Logan, wake up." Leaning forward, she went to speak to him again when his eyes suddenly popped open. She immediately recognised the disorientation, the confusion and the stark fear. A growl erupted violently from his chest and he sat up, causing Marie to pull back sharply, her own shocked scream filling the room.

It was too late.

Marie stood in shock, watching as Logan's eyes calmed and sense seemed to return before shock and utter horror filled his face. She gasped in a breath, and it burned her lungs, her chest. That small gasp had him retracting his claws, a sense of ease filling her before the abrupt burning assaulted her again, though to a much severe degree. She watched silently as his expression changed to one of desperation. "Help me. Somebody help me!" Logan roared.

The pain was unbearable. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to even stand there. Taking one last breath, she bore down and used her last remaining strength to reach out, wanting to feel his skin one more time, to have this last moment before she ceased to exist.

She'd forgotten about her bare hands.

His clammy skin, the roughness of his facial hair was a pure delight. At last, the unexpressed joy of human touch coursed through her. She closed her eyes in wonderment. It was then that she felt the pull begin. Her eyes burst open and she stared at Logan, knowing that he too felt the pull, felt the pain that came with her curse. She quickly pulled her hand away, and he fell to the floor, his body convulsing.

Images flooded her mind again, and she looked around in confusion as the light was turned on and the room filled with sleepy eyed students dressed in their pajamas. She turned and noticed then the other X-Men, Scott, Ororo and Jean looking at her with concern. "I-it was an accident," she whispered, trying to explain what had occurred.

She watched on helplessly as Jean went to Logan and assessed his prone form. He was unconscious. The single man in the world who had cared enough to take care of her, who she'd come to love and respect was lying unconscious on the floor because of her. Distraught, Rogue turned to leave, sure that Logan would never want to see her again after this.

She hadn't missed everyone's move to avoid body contact, nor did she miss the hurt that came with it.

...

He came awake slowly.

His eyes were so heavy that he could barely lift them. He did a quick body check and aside from muscles that were extremely sore, he was more or less OK, nothing that his healing factor wouldn't be able to fix in a little while. He blinked a few times to clear his vision, noting that he was back in bed, and that his room was dark again save for the single lamp light that shone from his bedside.

Had it all been a dream? His stabbing Marie?

A slight movement from the right had his eyes moving, his body preparing to take action when he noticed Professor Charles' concerned face, wheeling forward so that he was beside Logan's bed. He relaxed, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes from the light of the lamp.

"Logan," Charles spoke in greeting.

"What happened? Is she alright?"

"She'll be alright."

Logan sighed in relief before asking, "What did she do to me?"

"Whenever Rogue touches someone, she takes their energy and life-force. In the case of mutants, she absorbs their gifts for a short while. In your case the ability to heal."

Logan remained silent, taking it all in. It all made sense now, the previous touches in which she had taken on a few of his characteristics, the healing, the claws. Logan wondered exactly how much of his person she took in, if it included his nightmares and such. That was something he wouldn't wish on anyone, much less his Marie. Offhandedly, Logan commented, "It felt like she almost killed me."

Charles looked at him somberly. "If she had held on any longer, she could have."

...

Three days of having people steer a wide berth around her was driving her insane.

Marie was haunted by images of that night, of almost killing Logan. She'd barely slept the past few days, nor had she really been able to eat anything. Whenever she thought of what had happened, she would literally get sick to her stomach. The only time that she'd get a measure of peace was when she was sitting in the gardens, letting the quiet serenity of the place wash over her.

She was there again, sitting quietly, replaying the scenes of that night over and over again in her mind. Her nerves were jittery, and she didn't think she could survive another bout of recrimination. She was already having trouble holding onto her sanity. The Logan in her mind had tried to reassure her, but she'd pushed him to the back of her mind. She didn't want forgiveness, neither did she think the Logan in her head was truly Logan, because she was sure he'd be pissed as hell for almost killing him.

She heard a few footsteps and sat very still, hoping not to draw any more attention to herself. After a few days of having people cross over to the opposite side of the room or hallway to avoid coming into contact with her, she didn't want anymore unwanted attention that made her feel even more like a freak. The footsteps came closer, and out of her peripherals, Marie was able to discern a group of teenage boys cutting through the gardens, basketball in hand, looking to play some pick-up ball on the nearby court. Marie wasn't surprised when she heard her name come up in conversation.

"Man, how crazy is that Rogue, chick. She almost freakin' killed the Wolverine!"

A spatter of laughter before one added, "Damn. I wonder if she knows the Professor's mad at her? Didn't no one ever tell her the rules? You never use your powers against another mutant. What an idiot."

"Yeah, I'd hate to be in her shoes when the Professor and Logan finally catch up to her. If I was her, I'd just leave already. I'd rather go then stay around for that."

There was more laughter. "Whatever guys, enough of that. Lets play some ball. I bet I could take you all on one handed."

The boys boastings and laughter rang out in the afternoon air, but Marie silenced it all out, her thoughts turned inward and stark. The Professor was mad at her? And Logan she knew would have to be mad. Maybe that boy had been right. Maybe she should just leave.

Images of that horrible night flashed in her mind again, and she closer her eyes tightly as it all became too much. She wrapped her arms around herself and huddled on the bench. That boy was right, she knew what she was going to have to do.

...

It'd taken Logan several days to recover. Several damn days.

And not once did he see Marie. Logan shook his head as he let the hot water beat down on him. It felt good to have a shower without feeling so weak. His body had finally recovered from going into shock when Marie had touched him a few nights ago, her powers sending his healing factor haywire so that it had taken a day of rest for it to finally kick-in and speed up his recovery process.

He'd casually asked about Marie when Jean or Ororo would come up with a food tray for him, but all he could ascertain from them was that she'd been really quiet as of late, spending a lot of time down in the gardens. They'd barely heard a peep from her yesterday. Logan hadn't liked the sound of that. He knew Marie was probably beating herself up over that night, going even as far as to blaming herself for almost killing him, and he didn't want her to think that ever. But he didn't want to talk about something so private to others by asking Jean or Ororo to relay messages to her for him, so he had to grit his teeth and deal as his body slowly recovered.

And now that it had, his first order of task was to see her and make it right. God only knows just how much shit she must have gone through in the past few days. Logan cut off the water and hurriedly toweled off, walking into the bedroom to throw on some clothes. Finally dressed, he headed down to Marie's room, knocking lightly on the door when he reached it. Receiving no answer, he knocked again, calling out her name. No reply.

Logan frowned at that and knocked again before saying he was coming in. He turned the knob and pushed the door gently open. He looked around the empty room. The bed was made and everything was in tidy order, but the room felt bare, like it had been recently vacated. Heart pounding, Logan stepped into the room to look around. He could still smell the faint scent of her in the room, but a quick peruse of the closet, drawers and bathroom told him what he had feared. Marie was gone.

She was on the run again, and judging by the faint scent, she had a good day's head start. He closed his eyes as scenario after scenario of what could happen to her out on the road raced through his mind. He roared with anger and sprung into action, racing down the stair well to the ground floor. He immediately ran into Jean and Ororo conversing in the foyer. The stark look in his eyes had them both pausing in conversation.

"Logan, what's wrong?" Jean enquired.

"Where's the Professor? I need to see him." Logan growled, barely able to remain civil.

"Charles?" Ororo spoke up, "he's down in the med lab. Why?"

Logan raced off to the elevators, causing a squawk of protest from the two ladies. He could hear them follow behind him, and as he entered the elevator, held it open for them before waiting impatiently for it to make its descent. "Logan, what's going on?" Jean asked, her brow furrowed.

The doors opened and he strode out, spotting Charles and Scott laughing at something up ahead in the med lab. Without preamble, he asked, "where is she?"

Scott looked up, "where's who?"

The Professor paused. "Rogue." Another pause before he said, "she's gone."

...

**Thank you so much to everyone who has followed the story. Your reviews mean so very much to me. With Christmas around the corner, I find myself a tad bit busy so this will most likely be the last update for the year. But I hope to bring you a new year's gift early next month with chapter 10.**

**But for now, Merry Christmas and have a very Happy New Year. I'll see you in 2010.**


	10. The One Hunted

**Title:** Strangers in the Dark – "The One Hunted."

**Disclaimer:** see previous chapters

**Author's Notes:** Ok, first of all, apologies for not updating sooner. I had the best intentions with updating quickly but life just got in the way. Second of all, I just wanted to address a particular review that I received a few weeks back, and wanted to clear up any misunderstandings that readers may have.

1. Lack of updates does not mean I have given up on the story. Check my profile to see whether or not the story has been discontinued. That said, I don't have all the time in the world to write up updates for fics. As much as I would love to, there are just other things in life that have to come first. Writing is a hobby of mine that I love to delve into, but not something I have as a first priority in life.

2. Rogue was not raped. If you read the medical examination that I had written for Jean as well as the dialogue between her and Rogue, you'll note two things: a) she had bruises all over her body and scratches on her stomach and neck, and b) she was not raped. A person does not have to be naked in order to acquire bruises or scratches. In fact, with the sharp claws that Victor Creed has, its more than likely that he was able to scratch her through her clothing, and even if he were to make physical contact with her, two things would have happened: a) only his nails/claws would have come in direct contact with her skin so there wouldn't have been any skin-to-skin contact to open up the pull of Rogue's powers, and b) even if for some reason his skin did come into contact, he's able to quickly withdraw his hands. She's bound so she's physically incapable of forcing him to maintain contact long enough so she could render him unconscious.

3. In regards to Rogue's powers, she has a little control over it, though if you note in the beginning, she had to concentrate as to how much of her power she could use on people, ie. "rate of absorption". But with that power of course is the consequence of having the person inhabiting a part of her mind. I doubt that she would be all too happy about having Victor in her mind, which is why I didn't have her simply zap him with her powers, not to mention the fact that she was bound and blindfolded when Victor had her in his grasps, so there wasn't really anything she could do, even if she had wanted to use her powers on him. Second of all, I did include a part in which Scott comments on her physical and mental instability at that point in time so she's not going to have control over her powers. I've never explicitly said that she has the ability to turn her powers on and off, just the "rate of absorption", which is why, if you notice from the very beginning, she's always had protective clothing on. I did decide that in the event that Logan and Marie decided to get intimate, the full scope of her control would be fully explained to the readers, but at this particular point in time, I didn't see a need to explain.

I hope that clears a few things up. Anyways, forgive any spelling errors, etc. Its largely unbeta'ed though I really wanted to just hurry and update this.

…

_**What lengths will that man**_

_**go to to bring her back?**_

_**- Jean.**_

…

Logan followed the Professor at a brisk pace, his face drawn, his eyes narrowed as scenario after scenario in which the worse things happened to Marie played over and over in his mind. He wanted to beat at something, wanted to howl with frustration, but he kept himself in check. He couldn't give in just yet, he had to make sure that she was alright, and then he could wreck something.

Charles wheeled to a stop in front of one of the doors in the lower floor, and Logan watched wide-eyed as a beam of light emitted from a panel on the wall, scanning the Professor's eye. The doors slid open, accompanied by a monotone voice saying, 'welcome, Professor.'

He followed in the Professor's wake, taking in the single platform that held some sort of helmet device at the end and the massive circular room that it was housed in. His neck craned as he looked around. "This certainly is a round room."

Charles gave a wry smile at that before answering, "the brainwaves of mutants are quite different than those of the average human being. With the help of this machine, Cerebro, it enhances my powers and allows me to find those who are genetically modified."

Logan grunted, "so basically it's a mutant finder."

"Yes, I suppose you can say that. Its how I found you and Rogue."

"So you can find Rogue for sure? See where she is and what's happening to her?"

"Definitely. Rest assured, we'll find her and bring her back safely. Now, if you would excuse me."

Nodding, Logan exited the room, the doors closing behind him. He paced the short hallway, wanting nothing more but to yell at the Professor to hurry. The more time they spent waiting around, the more time that Marie went without his protection. And Logan wasn't a stranger to being on the run; a woman like her with her looks would attract all kinds of attention. He closed his eyes and tried to tamp down on the animal rage that was threatening to take over. Taking deep breaths he reassured himself that he was OK.

Ororo looked over at him, a worried expression covering her face. "She's alright, she's just upset."

Logan took a deep breath, his tone conveying his guilt. "I'm the reason she took off."

Ororo opened her mouth to speak further, but the sudden sliding of the doors had the group of four looking up, watching as the Professor wheeled out of the room. "I've located her, she's at the train station."

Logan breathed a sigh of relief. "Where is it?"

"A few miles west of here."

He turned quickly, moving towards the elevator so he could head to the garage. "I'll bring her back."

…

Logan sped towards the train station, his gut knotted with anxiety. He had to get to her before that train left, had to tell her he was sorry for failing to keep his word, for failing to take care of her.

And if that wasn't enough to make her stay?

He scowled at the stray thought, and clenched his fist as more sprang to mind. What right did he have to make her stay when he had nothing to give to her? What right did he have to stop her when he'd no doubt turned her whole life upside down, when he'd taken her away from her family and friends? What right did he have?

He didn't have the right. But he was selfish enough to want to keep her for himself all the same, she was his and he was hers, and there was no way he was going to let her walk out of his life. He thought of going back to the bleak existence that he had lived before her and he shuddered. He clenched his jaw. No matter what it took, he was going to bring her back. He couldn't live without her.

…

Marie stared solemnly out the train window.

She'd grabbed what little cash she had and had made her way to the station, catching a break and getting a lift from a nice elderly woman who had dropped her off at the station. She'd sat at one of the benches, just contemplating what to do next. It'd been awhile since she'd felt like she had lost all sense of direction in her life, in fact, that last time she had felt like this was during the manifestation of her powers, when she couldn't be around the people she loved lest she hurt them.

And here it was happening again.

She was startled by the tears that dripped from her chin, and she hastily wiped at it, sniffling a little. Now wasn't the time to give in, especially not in such a public place. She'd wait til she was safely holed up and then give in to her despair, but for now, she needed to keep it together. Rising, to her feet, she had made a quick decision to buy a ticket back home. It'd been awhile since she had last seen her parents, and her mum had been asking her a few times previously to come home and visit. Perhaps distance was what she needed the most.

She sat quietly, trying to shut all thoughts out of her mind when a voice sounded from behind her.

"Hey kid."

The voice that reverberated to her left that sounded so much like Logan caused her heart to clench. It couldn't be him, there was no way that he could have found out where she was, seeing as she hadn't left a note of any kind, but all the same, she hungered for one last look at him, one last memory to help sustain her through the rest of her lonely life, and she turned quickly, looking over her shoulder.

It was him.

A surprised cry burst from her lips, and she stared helplessly as Logan moved to sit next to her on the hard vinyl seats. He was scowling as he sat, and he let out a sigh before he looked over at her. She swallowed hard, dread filling her. Why was he here? Did he want to tell her how much he hated her for almost killing him? Her heart squeezed painfully. It was one thing to think that, but to have him confirm her fears would devastate her. She waited for him to speak with abated breath.

"I'm sorry for what happened that night."

She blinked, confused. He didn't want to yell at her? "M-me too."

He looked down at his lap before returning his gaze back to her. "You runnin' again?"

It hurt, hurt to see him, hurt to leave like this. She really hadn't meant to leave on such bad terms, and she wanted to tell him how sorry she was. She took a deep breath, "Logan, I'm… sorry. For everything. All I ever seem to do is hurt you. I-I wanted to help you, wanted to make you smile, but I can't even do that. I…"

Marie trailed off as Logan turned in his seat, hard hands gripping her shoulder as he pulled her closer. "Listen to me, you have nothing to be sorry about. I'm the one that needs to apologise, for kidnapping you and all that shit I did to ya. I…fuck, I'm no good at this…"

He released her shoulders, leaning back against the seat, a hand scrubbing at his face. Marie stared at him silently, her widened eyes trained on his face. "Logan?"

He remained as he was, his eyes closed, but he answered her, his voice gruff. "I don't want you to leave, alright? I can't look after you if you're not by my side."

Hope bloomed within her as she searched his face, her fingers itching to stroke the side of it. "You want me to stay by your side?"

Logan slowly opened his eyes, a slight smile on his face. "Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying." He leaned forward, and Marie couldn't help but draw her gaze longingly to his lips. The sudden jolting of the train ruined the moment, and the two sprang apart as Logan looked around to assess the situation.

"Where's this train takin' us?"

"I was gonna go back home and see my parents."

"Well, we're gonna have to figure out a way to get outta here. Chuck and the rest of the gang are waiting for us at the station."

He rose to his feet, grabbing Marie's duffel bag from the floor before extending a hand to her. She reached for it gladly, loving the feel of his big hand enfolding hers, even if their gloves separated their skin from touching. But she was jerked from her thoughts as the train jerked violently to a stop, moving to hold onto the seat to keep from falling on the floor. Logan grabbed for the back of his seat, and both watched in awe as the lights flickered on and off before the back of the train carriage tore apart easily as if it was nothing more than tissue paper.

Screams filled the air as terrified passengers huddled in their seats, the carriage slightly filling with smoke from the destruction of the metal. And through the gaping hole, a figure floated towards them. Marie looked desperately at Logan, and he motioned for her to stay down as he stepped into the aisle, facing down the stranger who was no doubt a mutant.

"You must be 'The Wolverine'", the figure spoke as he strode forward through the mist.

Logan tensed as adrenalin started to pump through him. He sprung his claws, moving to protect his woman but was brought up short by an invisible and mysterious pull.

"That remarkable metal doesn't run through your entire body, does it?"

He stood motionless as he was lifted by the same mysterious pull. The figure stepped forward into the dim light, and he took in his strange clothes as well as the weird looking helmet before memorising the strangers face. He honestly couldn't say that he'd seen him before, or exactly why he wanted to come after them, but Logan figured that the stranger may be that person that Chuck had mentioned before.

Pain shot through him as Magneto began to manipulate the metal in his hands, and he couldn't help the groan that burst from his lips. He could hear Marie's distressed cry, her plea for him to be left alone. He wanted to divert the assailant's attention from her, and he struggled to speak. "What... do you want with me?"

"You? Whoever said I wanted you?"

Logan's eyes widened as he looked to the side at Marie. Shit, not again. It was his last thought before he was hurled back against the wall and lost consciousness.

…

To be continued. Sorry it was short, but I'll try my best to update again soon. :)


	11. Lose Control

**Title:** Strangers in the Dark – "Lose Control."

**Disclaimer:** see previous chapters

**Author's Notes:** Ah, finally reached the second last chapter. Just a note about this chapter, in the original script that was written, I had been interested in the idea of Marie absorbing the mutant ability of Mystique and had really wished that either director had explored that aspect. Alas, it was never realised so I wanted to touch upon it briefly in this chapter.

Again, I apologise for the huge delay, but I guess it's no surprise to those who've been following from the beginning, I'm not known for my prompt updates. All I can say is that I hope this chapter is somewhat enjoyable. Happy Readings.

…

_Soon, mankind will know the meaning of fear. – Erik Lehnsherr._

…

When Logan next came to, it was to find himself bound in a dark, damp room.

He paused to gather his senses, sniffing to detect the presence of danger, but all he could make out was the scent of his terrified mate. He sat up awkwardly, grunting at the pain that shot through his body at the movement. He grit his teeth and bore through it as blood rushed back into his limbs.

"L-Logan?"

There was movement to the left of him, and he turned towards the sound. "Marie?"

She groaned and shuffled closer to his side, and by the sound of her struggles, he assumed that her hands were tied behind her back as well. "Baby, are you OK? Did they hurt you while I was out?"

She shook her head, wide eyes trained on his face. "C-Creed tried to b-but I wouldn't let him."

Logan paused as his eyes became accustomed to the dim light of the room, as he made out Marie's form seated at his side. His voice was incredulous, "Sabertooth? Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Marie, I took his fucking head off last time I saw him. There's no way it could be him."

"It was him! I'm not making this up!"

Realising that she was getting upset, Logan quickly made reassuring noises, letting the matter drop for the moment. Marie subsided as Logan growled, "That fucker. He didn't try to touch you, did he?"

Marie looked away and he swore again. She shook her head and gave him a trembling smile. "He was trying to scare me, but I wasn't afraid. You…you were telling me not to give into him. You were helping me, Logan."

"You did good, baby. Never show any fear in front of that bastard."

She nodded in understanding. Logan fought against the constraints holding him, the metal cutting into the skin of his wrists. He grunted in pain before abandoning that effort, his mutation healing the abrasions on his wrists. He looked around the room but could see precious little. "Where we are?"

"They knocked me out when they took us from the train, but I woke up when they were putting us into the room. The metal bars leading into this place can only be manipulated by Magneto so that we're virtually stuck here."

Rage and anxiety began to course within Logan, the need to get his mate out of danger and unleash hell on them for even thinking of harming her drumming a heavy beat in his blood.

"I also heard Magneto speaking to Creed. He said that…that he was going to have to hold me down once he transfers his powers to me."

Logan growled at the image of Marie being held down by Creed. "There's no fucking way I'm letting that guy touch you."

"L-lets not think about that right now. How are we going to get out of here?"

"The Professor knows that I went to get you so they could be on the way. The first rule of survival though is to rely on yourself, so we're gonna have to figure something out rather than wait for them to show up."

They thought about it for a moment before Marie spoke up hesitantly. "I think our best chance will be when they transfer power into me. If this Magneto guy is temporarily weakened, then he wouldn't be able to hurt you like he did before on the train. Not only that, I would have his powers at my full disposal."

Logan didn't like the idea of Marie getting involved in the crossfire but he didn't have any other options available. He made her promise to run like hell once she got free and not to worry about him, that he would take care of himself, to which she vehemently refused. "No, don't you dare ask that of me. We promised to stay by each other's side and I meant it."

"Yeah, but when push comes to shove, I want you to get the hell out of here and look after yourself."

"Would you do that if you were in my shoes?"

"Don't try and change the subject, we're talking about you here. It doesn't matter what happens to me, I'm not worth dying for."

Marie was quiet after that outburst, and Logan could feel her shifting away. Moments later, he could hear her sniffling and the smell of her tears assaulted his nose. He gave a groan. "Marie…"

She remained silent.

Logan swore softly, shuffling closer to her side. "Don't cry, baby, please. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I feel exactly the same way. It hurts me when I see you get hurt, even worse when it's for my sake. I really love you, you know that? I couldn't imagine living life without you now and to hear you say that your life doesn't matter upsets me since it matters so much to me," she cried.

"Shh, don't cry. I'm sorry—"

His words were drowned out by the sudden clanging of metal against metal, a small pool of light filtering through the dimness and Logan watched in amazement as the metal bars bent as if they were mere sticks. The heavy overwhelming feeling that he had felt earlier in the train smothered him, and he grit his teeth as he was immobilised by the man that stepped through the bent bars, followed by the son of a bitch Creed. He gave a low warning growl, his gaze flickering over to Marie's huddled form before turning back to the two captors.

Magneto gave a small smile as he thought again about the wonderful metal that seemed to run all throughout The Wolverine's body before turning to business. His gaze settled on the cowering girl, a look of pity flitting briefly across his face before it disappeared against his resolved look. "It's time for you to show your full potential, my dear."

…

The doors slid open and three pairs of eyes looked at Charles expectantly.

"New York. The Statue of Liberty to be exact."

The three X-men looked at each other in surprise for a moment before rushing off to the jet.

Charles leaned back in his chair, a frown marring his brow. "What are you up to, Erik?"

…

Marie shivered in the cold night, huddling closer to Logan, some of his body heat blessedly seeping through her chilled skin, combating the overwhelming cold.

From what she could tell, they were currently on a ship that carried what Magneto had referred to as some sort of machine for human kind. There had been a maniacal gleam in his eyes when he had revealed some of his plans, and Marie knew that no amount of reasoning would sway him. They were still bound and hidden on deck next to the contraption, with Creed watching over them as Magneto and a green toad-looking man alighted from the ship. She kept her eyes down, holding her breath every time Creed got close, to which Logan responded with all sorts of threats and unearthly growls, much to the amusement of their captor.

A complete sense of emptiness filled Marie at that moment, and she wondered briefly if she could really get Logan out of here. She shook her head fiercely, pushing away all negative thought. If there was one thing that she wanted to do before she died, it was to see Logan safe from harm, something she would gladly die for. Resolved, she turned to her beloved, drinking in the sight of him. Sensing her gaze, he looked down at her and gave her a grim smile, murmuring, "We'll get out of here. I promise."

His words brought tears to her eyes and she returned his smile, leaning into his side and closing her eyes as his scent wrapped around her, as she enjoyed these last few moments with him. "I know," she whispered.

Magento returned to the duo all too soon, his presence jolting Marie, her muscles tensing as she awaited for her opportunity to move. Logan gave a wordless murmur, which Marie took as an urging for her to bide her time. She subsided, though her muscles trembled with the urgent desire to make a move. Magneto motioned towards Creed, who gave her a sly grin and moved towards her. Logan struggled against his cuffs, giving an unholy growl as he watched Marie being yanked by Creed.

His heart began to pound, the animal in him rising as he heard his mate cry out as Creed jerked her towards Magneto. She shook her head as Magento stripped off his glove, begging him not to do it, and the helpless look on her face was enough for the beast to be released. Roaring, he popped his claws, angling one hand upward and giving a jerk to cut through the steel manacle of one hand. He gave a grunt of pain as his claws shredded through one hand, but he ignored it as he was freed, his body already hurtling towards Magneto.

Caught off guard, Magneto turned to the Wolverine, raising his hand, effectively bringing Logan to a halt. Seeing her opportunity, Marie lashed out with her foot, catching the distracted Creed in the groin. He groaned and doubled over, and Marie moved in quickly, her hand covering his exposed face. She felt the pull, concentrating on the rate to suck him in as quickly as she could. She whimpered at the assault of memories in her head, and was shocked and astounded at the figure that featured prominently in them. She looked down at the person she had felled, eyes wide as the form of Creed shifted into that of a blue beauty.

She struggled to contain control as the new occupant in her mind fought for supremacy. She gleaned the reason for the ruse of masquerading as Creed, that Mystique had wanted to torture her sadistically, knowing that Creed had tormented her while he had been alive. It was that thought that gave Marie the strength to overpower her, pushing her behind her mental walls, effectively silencing her.

Magneto turned towards her, taking note of his henchman on the floor and the effect of her mutation on Rogue. He gave an infuriated yell, a blast of magnetic force emanating from his body, manipulating the very deck that they stood on. Quickly, Marie sifted through the memories of Mystique and quickly morphed, gritting her teeth as her body underwent the changes rapidly. She screamed as Magneto lifted part of the rail of the ship and sent it flying towards her, closing her eyes and letting instinct take over.

She had expected pain, but there was none, and when she opened her eyes, she found that she had teleported behind him. He turned quickly and she teleported again, finding herself next to Logan's prone form. Wrapping her arms around him, she teleported again, off the boat and onto the nearby shore. The mutation faded as Logan clamped his hand around her arm and yelled at her to run, the two moving further inland away from the figure on the boat.

Metal projectiles came flying past them, and Marie turned to look over her shoulder, noting that Magneto had made it to the island. Suddenly, there was a pull on her leg, and she screamed as she fell to the ground before being lifted into the air. She hung upside down, blood rushing to her head as she sighted the green, toad-looking man nearby with his tongue protruded from his mouth. Suddenly, pain exploded in her head, dimming her senses. She looked at Logan one last time, wanting to tell him to keep running, but the words failed to form and the pain proved to be too much, the darkness taking over.

Seeing his mate's lifeless form had him bellowing in rage. He sprang towards her, slicing through the green tongue that had wrapped around her ankle, grunting with satisfaction as he heard the assailant's pained cry. Not letting himself think too much about her still body, he hoisted Marie onto his shoulder, managing to slice and deflect the metal projectile that came towards him at that instant. He swore viciously as he noticed how close Magneto had gotten, his magnetic force paralysing him. He wanted to howl in frustration, willing his body to run, to move, to do something.

A red beam of light shot through the night, hitting Magneto square in the chest, releasing Logan from his magnetic hold. Looking over his shoulder, he made out the figures of the X-Men as they moved towards him. Turning back around, he watched as the assailant that had grabbed Marie was lifted up into the air. There was a sudden gust of wind, and clouds formed overhead as thunder rolled and lightening streaked through the night sky. Suddenly, a huge bolt of lightening descended from above, striking the green man at full force, the blow throwing him back a few hundred metres into the water.

Jean reached his side once the sky cleared and the storm subsided, asking to take a look at Marie. He shifted her gently into his arms, and watched as Jean felt for her pulse. "Her pulse is strong and steady. She's just knocked out it seems, but it would be best to take her back to the medical lab and keep her under observation."

Logan nodded at her assessment and turned to face the others. He cast a wary glance at the prone form of Magneto. "What's gonna happen to him?"

"The proper authorities have been called," Scott answered. "He'll be put into a heavily guarded prison no doubt."

"Speaking of the authorities, I think they've arrived. Time for us to get out of here." Ororo urged and they moved towards the nearby blackbird.

As Logan ascended the ramp into the waiting blackbird and slid into an available seat in the back, he found that his pride chafed at having been saved by the others, especially the self-righteous prick scooter. But as he looked down at his mate's unconscious form, he found that it didn't matter as much as having Marie finally safe in his arms. He stroked her soft skin and placed his forehead against hers, knowing at that moment that he had his whole world in his arms.


End file.
